Who are you, Owen Grady?
by Ghostly Presence
Summary: Owen and Claire are sent to Masrani Global's headquarters in Manhattan to deal with press after the Indominus rex disaster. A midst all the interviews and meetings, Claire and Owen find the time to get to know each other better little by little. There's laughter, tears, joy and pain; will they overcome it all?
1. Chapter 1

It has been almost two weeks since Jurassic World caught the proverbial fire. After we were evacuated from the island, Masrani Global stationed Claire and I at the Hilton in San Jose for a week. As we were the only two people, other than Barry, to survive the disaster that was the Indominus Rex, they wanted to hide us out for as long as possible in order to avoid the avalanche that was the media. They wanted to make sure they had some sort of defense strategy before they let us go back to the US to face the inevitable, long and arduous legal battle.

During that week in San Jose, Claire and I talked. A lot. Mainly about what had happened and how she wished she could chop off her feet after running away from a _freaking_ dinosaur in heels. There wasn't much to do other than talk to each other and watch TV, which I couldn't quite enjoy as my Spanish is barely existent. Claire found it ridiculous that I could barely utter a word in Spanish, having lived on the island for over 2 years. In my defense, the environment I lived and worked at was crawling with people who only spoke English. She shook her head.

We would alternate between spending time in each other's rooms. The first day the only thing we could think about was having a long, warm shower and an uninterrupted good night sleep. So, that first day, we didn't really see each other. I think we needed it; time to process everything that had happened on our own. The next day though, I couldn't stand being in my room, so I went to knock on Claire's door after lunch. When she opened it, dare I say, she looked glad to see me? I thought so, which immediately make me giddy. She invited me in and put me up to date with what the big, important people of Masrani Global had told her.

On our fifth day, while Claire was talking to Karen and the kids on Skype, I finally gathered enough courage to ask her about us. I wasn't sure where we were exactly. I mean, I know she agreed to stick together for survival, but we had just escaped a very near certain death. She could've meant it at the time, but now that she had time to think about it, I wanted to know how she felt about us now. Would she give us another shot?

So, after she hung up with Karen, I blurted it out.

"Did you mean it? About us sticking together? For survival?"

She just stared at me. A little surprised, her mouth slightly open.

"I think so" she said, not quite sure of herself.

She closed the laptop and stood up from the chair and sat on the bed, facing me.

The disappointment must've shown in my face because she was fast at reassuring me.

"Don't misunderstand me. I want us to stick together. But at the same time, we barely know each other, right? We went on one date. One horrible date and then the few times we crossed paths, we barely even so much as glanced at each other's eyes, you know?"

She's right. We barely know each other, but at the same time, I feel like I know her. We learnt more about each other running away from the Indominus Rex, than what we could've learnt on 20 dates.

"So, you want us to get to know each other more?" I sit up a straight. "Okay, it's settle then. Ms. Dearing, would you be so kind to accept a second date with me?"

She wasn't expecting that, if the sudden stiffness in her shoulders is anything to go by, but she recuperates.

"I.. I would like that. But there's the issue of us not being able to leave the hotel for the next 2 days. Would you be willing to wait?" She's playing innocent. At this point she knows I would wait a million years for her.

"Would I be willing to wa… Do you even need to ask, Claire? And I promise, no board shorts this time"

"You better keep that promise, cause I'm not sure I can bear seeing you in one of those again" She laughs and relaxes a little. There's a glint in her eyes, something that I have never seen on Claire Dearing before.

"And I promise no itineraries"

I cover my mouth with my hand and bulge my eyes as much as I possibly can.

"No itineraries? Who are you and what have you done to Claire, you evil spirit?!"

"Really, Owen? Don't be so melodramatic. I'm an organized person. What's so wrong with that?"

"Oh, there's nothing wrong with being an organize person. Just, you know, let me take care of the _romance_ this time, yes?"

"Romance? Seriously?" She stands up from the bed and opens the door of her bedroom. "You know what? Get out of my room before it truly sinks in that we're going out on a date again"

I start walking towards the door and stop right beside her.

"I have no idea what we're going to do on our date or when it's going to be, but be certain that is going to be the best date ever" I move in front of her and mouth the words, _Best_. _Date. Ever._

She was about to say something but before she could, I planted a kiss on her lips and run out of the room and into mine. Small victories.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2:

There's a knock. Who knocks on my door at this ungodly hour? I look at the clock on the nightstand. _7:05am._

"Are you freaking kidding me?"

I try to tune out the knocking, but after 2 minutes, I give up. I practically drag myself out of bed and open the damn door.

"Claire? It should be illegal to knock on someone's door at this hour" I rub my eyes. "What's going on? Do you want to come i..? Why are you looking up?"

"Owen, you are wearing nothing but boxers" She says scratching her forehead and slightly chewing on her bottom lip.

"Wha..? Oh _shit_. Give me a minute" I run back inside and put on the first pants and t-shirt I see. I almost tripped in my haste to put them on. "Okay, sorry. Come on in"

She is blushing and I'm about to mention it to her, but decide that she's been embarrassed enough for the moment.

She clears her throat. "Um, yeah. I got a call about 20 minutes ago. They want us to go to New York to make a couple of interviews and a press conference. Our flight leaves in 5 hours"

 _Oh hell, no._ I suddenly feel wide awake "I don't feel comfortable doing those interviews, Claire. Actually, I don't feel like defending the people who created the monster that killed all of those people. It almost killed us for fuck's sake!"

Claire looks me in the eyes for the first time since she got into my room.

"I know. I told them that you were very unlikely to accept. But they want you to go anyway. The headquarters of Masrani Global is in Manhattan and they want your statement, just to make sure they have all the information they can get to build a strong defense"

"I don't give a _shit_ about them. I don't want to be a part of this. All those people wipe their asses with hundred-dollar bills, I'm sure they can get lawyers to defend them pretty well. They don't need me and I, sure as hell, don't need them"

I run a hand through my hair and sit down on the bed. Claire looks at me for a few seconds and then sits next to me.

"I thought you would say that. But I need you to help me, though. All the security footage of that night was leaked. Us looking for Zack and Gray, you with the raptors, me leading the T-Rex to the Indominus. The company has made me their spokesperson. Nobody on that company can tell what happened in the park better than me. Except you. You were there with me. I need you to help _me,_ not them, _me_. Besides, I was thinking Manhattan is a pretty good place to have that date"

Oh, you sneaky woman. Sneaky, sneaky, beautiful woman "God. Not fair! Well played, Dearing. Well played" We both laugh.

There's that glint in her eyes again.

5 hours later, we're boarding an American Airlines plane to New York City. At least we're flying first class, thank you very much.

After an extraordinarily good meal, considering we're on a plane (risotto with beef? _Yum_ ) I start planning what our date could be, but in order to do that, I need to know our schedule. I want to do something amazing, something that Claire would love, nothing over the top. I want to make sure we are not in a rush that day, though.

"Okay, so what's the plan exactly? We land and what?"

She puts down the Vanity Fair magazine she was reading and pulls out her cellphone.

"Well, today they're giving us the day off. Tomorrow though, is going to be a bit of a hectic day. First thing in the morning, we have to be at the headquarters. There, they're going to tell us basically what we can and can't say and/or answer during the interviews and press conference. They already approved the questions we are going to be asked in Good Morning America and the Diane Sawyer Interview. That should take us the whole morning. Then, we hav…"

I almost spit the sprite I was drinking. I wipe my mouth with the cloth napkin.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa. Good Morning America? Diane _freaking_ Sawyer?! What the _f_ , Claire?! I thought we were going to be interviewed by a newspaper or something! Television? With the whole world looking at us? That's a whole other thing! Why didn't you tell me?!" I'm loud whispering this obviously. I don't want people looking at us and risking the possibility of somebody recognizing us.

"Oh come on, Owen! We were chased by dinosaurs for god's sake! Were you honestly expecting people to not give a crap about it? Honestly, on this day and age everyone finds out everything about everything in 2 seconds. 'Raptor Squad' and 'high-heeled badass' was trending on twitter before we boarded the plane, and it's been a week already. Which by internet standards is a damn century!"

She sits back, a bit exasperated.

"They're calling you 'high heeled badass'?" I'm trying to fight the smile that's creeping into my face.

She looks at me with a deadpanned stare. "That's the only thing you heard?"

"I think at this point in our relationship you know me well enough to know, that _that_ is in fact, the only thing I heard"

At 'relationship' her whole face changes into one of amusement. She presses the button to call an airhostess. She doesn't take her eyes off of me. I feel like I'm in a Mexican stand off, but instead of guns, we have glares. I have a cocky, tight lip smile on and she is fighting a smile. When the airhostess comes to Claire, she turns to her and asks for a glass of champagne.

"You're leading me into drinking, Grady"

"Well, on the plus side, you would be the classiest patient in rehab"

"Wh..? You know what, I'm not even going to try an attempt to figure out how your brain works"

"You're a smart woman. You'll figure it out eventually"

"Flattery will get you nowhere, Owen"

"Oh, on the contrary, Claire. It will get me everywhere"

I stop teasing her and ask her to continue telling me our schedule of hell. As it turns out, between interviews with big television chains, a press conference, interviews with important newspapers _and_ magazines, and all the legal crap we have to unfortunately be a part of, our date will be, from the moment we land, in 2 weeks.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3:

We landed in LaGuardia Airport with no problem. The company had a car waiting for us to take us to the hotel. We were both given rooms on the 20th floor, giving us quite the beautiful view of Manhattan. I spent 5 years of my live living in Ithaca, which is where I studied. It's not exactly close to Manhattan, is about a 4-hour drive, but whenever I had a long weekend I would make the trip and stay with my best friend from elementary school, Phillip. We're still best friends, but it's been a while since I talked to him. While I was in the navy I talked to him whenever I could, sometimes we would even write letters to each other. There was this running joke between us, we would write things like 'I love you, my darling' and things like that, because seriously, who writes letters between each other anymore?

Now, that I think about it, Phillip's a chef. And a damn good one, at that. Maybe he can help me with my date with Claire. He has a restaurant. He can totally help me out. I pick up my phone and decide to call him.

"There must be something wrong with my caller ID, cause this couldn't possibly be Owen Grady"

"Oh, but it is my friend. Phillip! How are you, man?"

"I'm excellent. But I should be the one asking you, Lizard man! You're all over the news with that pretty red head"

"Well, you know me. I'm always getting myself in trouble, but I'm a survivor. That's one of the things I'm good at; and that's my pretty red head or at least I'm trying really hard for that to be true"

"Oh, really? You have to tell me about her. When are you going to come visit me huh? It's been too long, man. I want to see you!"

"Funny you should say that. I'm in Manhattan and I have the day off. Wanna go grab a coffee somewhere?"

"You're here?! Finally. Yes, I have 5pm free, but unfortunately I can only be with you for an hour. I have a kitchen to run, you know?"

"I know, chef. The Coffee Bean & Tea leaf at 5pm, then?"

"Okay. See you, dude"

"See ya, buddy"

I cannot express how much I've missed Phillip. We met in elementary school back home in New Haven, Connecticut. I was drawing samurais, he had a samurai lunchbox and we were glued to the hip until the day of graduation. He wanted to be a chef and I wanted to be an expert biologist and interact with animals. We found really good universities in New York and we would see each other whenever we could and we talked all the time.

I'm hoping he can help me out with what I have in mind for Claire. Speaking of Claire, I'm going to go and tell her I'm going to head out, just in case she wants something. I walk down a corridor to my right, turn left and I'm looking for room 2004, 2005, here it is: 2006. I knock.

"Owen. I was just about to go to your room and show you the questions they're going to be asking us on the interviews. I just wanted to read them to you now, so you can freak out, yell, whatever here, that way we don't have a scene tomorrow morning in the office" She gives me one of those tight lip smiles, amusement in her eyes.

"Are you calling me a drama queen?" I say leaning on the doorframe.

"I'm calling you impulsive. Now, come in so you can here the questions we're going to be asked" She steps aside to let me in.

"Sorry, I'm heading out. I'm going to meet a friend. I came to let you know. I won't be long though. We can check those out when I come back. Is that okay?"

"Oh yes, of course. Uh, see you in a bit then"

"Do you want anything? I'm going to be meeting my friend at a coffee shop"

"Hazelnut Latte, please and thank you"

"You got it. See you in a bit"

"Okay, see you"

The hotel we're staying in is in the middle of Times Square. The coffee shop is at a walking distance. The 5 minutes it takes me to get to the coffee shop, remind me of why I accepted the job to train the raptors. Manhattan, as beautiful as it might be, is very overwhelming. Costa Rica is a small country and Isla Nublar was even smaller. You wouldn't get overwhelmed that easily. At least not by people.

I step into the coffee shop, the smell of freshly pressed coffee immediately engulfing my senses. I'm tempted to close my eyes and take a good sniff, when I feel someone grab me in a chokehold.

"A year since I saw your face, you son of a bitch!" I hear a throaty laugh.

"Jesus, man. This is how you welcome your brother from another mother?"

He lets go and I cough a little. We both laugh and hug it out.

"It's good to see you, brother" Phillip ruffles my hair, just like when we were kids.

"It's good to see you too, man. Come on, let's order something so we can talk"

"Yes, my love" He grabs some of my hair and tugs it behind my ear. I push his hand away.

We buy a couple of coffees and sit in a table near the window.

"Okay, Raptor charmer. What the actual fuck was that all about?" he says taking a sip from his coffee.

"Long story short, a group of assholes created a new dinosaur in a test tube and when it started eating people, they asked me to try and stop it with my raptors. The girls turned momentarily against me, had to run for my life, but they eventually remembered their loyalty to me. Oh, and the equivalent of Godzilla ended up eating the 26 million dollar monster. So, what's up with you?" Now is my turn to take a sip from my coffee.

"Holy shit balls, Owen. I thought my life was tough, trying to create new dishes so I can remain 'relevant'. I fucking hate that word. Oh, hey wait a minute. You weren't running alone. Who is the badass red head? Spit it out, man!"

Phillip has never really seen me have a long-term relationship. I mean, I haven't had one. That's why every time I so much as had a date, he would encourage me to really make an effort to see if I saw a future with whomever I was dating. I never did.

I don't have that many friends and that's because I don't trust that easily. After I had a fall out with my parents, I became even more closed of. Walls up, all the time. Phillip would tell me to make an effort to put those walls down. He once told me: 'Those walls of yours might keep pain away, but they also keep out love, Owen" I tried, many times, but I could never put them down completely. I think that maybe I hadn't found someone worth the effort. Now though, I think I've found the one.

"Her name is Claire Dearing and she is a royal pain in my ass. But for whatever reason, I don't give a shit. She was the senior assets manager of the park"

"Wow, so your boss? Pretty, smart _and_ badass? I like her already"

"Well no, not my boss. I was hired by InGen, not Masrani Global She's amazing, Phil. You know, we went on a date once, back on Isla Nublar. Complete fucking mess"

"Really? What'd you do?"

"Why do you assume it was me the one who screwed up?"

"Says the guy who kissed your date's best friend during a game of spin the bottle"

"I was 13 years old!"

"And apparently a moron. But please, continue"

I sigh "Any how, I wore board shorts, she brought an itinerary, as I said, complete fucking mess. The thing is that now, things are completely different. I've never felt with anyone, how I feel when I'm with her. I really think she's it" I shake my head, not even believing what I'm saying, what I'm feeling!

"Fuck me, I never thought I'd live to see the day Owen Grady would put his walls down. Congratulations, brother"

I smile "Thanks, man. I need you to do me a favour, though"

"Of course, dude. Anything for you"

"I want to take her on a date, but it has to be a million and one times better than the first. I was wondering if maybe you could prepare us a meal from heaven. Bare no expense, I want it to be amazing"

"You got it. When are you planning to have the date?"

"In exactly 2 weeks from today. You have no idea of all the shit I have to do starting tomorrow. Interviews for newspapers, magazine, tv shows, news, press conferences, meet up with lawyers and so many other things. It's giving me a headache already"

Phillip lets out a low whistle "Well, I can't say I'm jealous of you. But I can definitely put a menu together, I'll email it to you and tell me if you approve. Oh hey, I had a private room built for special occasions in the restaurant, you know. Nobody has booked it for that day. You want it?"

"Yaaaas, that would be amazing!"

"You got it" He looks at his watch and sighs. "Crap, I have to get going man. I have to start the mis-en-place"

"The missing what?" I look confused at him.

"You peasant. The mis-en-place. The prepping, Owen. Has the Central American sun cooked your brain or something?"

"Not that I can tell. I'm kidding, Phil. Did you forget where we grew up?"

"No, I definitely did not forget. Where are you staying?"

"At the Hilton in Times Square"

"Then, we can talk for 5 more minutes. I'll just take a cab from there"

"Okay, just let me grab a coffee for Claire. She wanted one"

"Getting coffee for his lady. What a gentleman"

We start walking towards the hotel, when Phillip tells me something I wasn't expecting. At all.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4:

"What?"

"Your parents are coming. Next week. They're staying for a few days. They told me they were going to have dinner at the restaurant"

I sigh and rub my face "You chose to tell me this now? I was having such a good time, Phillip"

He opens his arms wide "What do you expect me to do, man? You barely talk to them and they want to know about you. I don't know what to tell them. Especially after what happened on the island. They can't find out everything from Isabella, you know. Does she even know you're here?"

Isabella. My baby sister. Well, not so much a baby, she's 22 years old. She's my favorite person in the world. My parents and I had disagreements about my future. I wanted to work with animals and they wanted me to study something that would help the family business grow. In other words, not what I wanted.

I graduated school a year younger than everyone else. They said I was advanced. Whatever the hell that means. I graduated school when I had just turned 17 years old. I immediately went to university and got my degree by age 21. I worked for a year and right before I turned 23, I enlisted in the navy and remained there for 9 years, until InGen picked me up.

I got accepted into 5 universities, I chose to study in Ithaca because it wasn't too close to home, but not far enough that I wouldn't be able to visit Isabella from time to time. When I enlisted in the navy, Isabella and I would call and write to each other all the time. Once I was on Isla Nublar, we would Skype at least once a week. But then she started university and she was extremely busy and we would talk to each other once a month, _if_ we were lucky. My girls were also very time consuming.

She's twice as smart as I am. She's very determined. Once she sets her mind about something, she's going to stay with it until she accomplishes it. She's like Claire, like that. Isabella would really like her.

"No, she doesn't know. The last time I talked to her she told me she was doing a semester in England. I don't even know if she's back home"

"Your mum told me she's coming back in 2 weeks. She participated in a competition about problem solving in a specific workplace. The winner would get exonerated from having to take finals. As you might imagine, she won. That's why she's coming back early"

I laugh "Of course she won. Well Phil, this is me. Hey, thanks again for helping me out with the date. I really appreciate it"

"What are friends for, huh? See you in 2 weeks, man."

We hug and he stops a cab. I turn around to go into the hotel but his voice stops me.

"Hey Owen. It's awesome that you're opening up with Claire. Maybe try with your parents? They miss you, man"

"I'll think about it. I promise"

"That's all I ask" He gets into the cab and raises his hand to say goodbye and I walk into the hotel.

As I am riding the elevator to the 20th floor, I decide on floor 10 to climb the stairs instead. I need a moment to think. I haven't talked directly to my parents since right before I was deployed to Kabul. So, 11 years. Is that right? God, it's been too long. But even if I tried, wouldn't it be awkward? What if we don't even know how to talk to each other anymore? But I guess Phillip is right, I can't keep using Isabella as a messenger. She's too nice of a person to tell me to stop but I know she wants us to be the family we once were. Besides at this point, it's not like my parents can keep telling me to rethink my career path. It's too late for that.

I could try. I should try, for Isabella and for me. Before I know it, I'm standing in front of Claire's door. I push my parents out of my mind and I knock. Claire opens the door. She's holding a folder on her hands. I can see she's written furiously on it.

"Owen, come in. Did you catch up with your friend?" She closes the door behind me.

"Yeah, I did. It was great seeing him. Here's your coffee. Sorry if it's not too hot"

She puts the folder on her bed and I hand her the coffee.

"It's fine, don't worry about it. I don't like it scorching hot either way, so. Mmm, this is really good. Thank you, Owen"

"You're welcome. So, hit me with those questions"

"Okay, grab the chair and put it right in front of the bed. I want to see your posture and everything. You might be saying something, but your body might be saying something else. Just being cautious"

"When are you _not_ cautious, Claire? I mean professionally, because the last time in a real life situation, you just started yelling for people in the middle of the jungle with a man made dinosaur on the loose"

"Would you rather have me drink this coffee or would you prefer wearing it?" She says arching her eyebrow.

"I'm just saying, merely stating facts"

"May I start or is there something else you want to 'merely state'?"

"Please, proceed" I say with my most classy voice.

She picks up the folder and sits on the bed in front of me.

"Okay. First question. Were you aware of the existence of the Indominus Rex?"

"No, I wasn't aware. My job was to train the Velociraptors, that's it"

"The park was functioning impeccably, its popularity was over the roof. Why do you think they decided to create a new dinosaur?"

"I guess a Spinosaurus wasn't impressing anyone anymore. They wanted to show something new to the public. Keep them interested. As a company, they have to innovate, if they don't then people lose interest" Jesus, not even I bought that one.

"Owen, that was terrible. You frowned, you kept looking down at your hands and you looked like you were about to spit from disgust"

"Well, what do you want me to do, Claire? Tell the truth? 'They created a brand new dinosaur because they were playing God. Their thirst for more money was stronger than their need to evaluate risk' How did that sound?" I stand up and start pacing the length of the bedroom.

Claire puts her coffee down and looks at me. "I know how you feel, Owen. I don't want you to lie, cause that's not the angle I want you to take and I'm sure that's not what you want. So, let's figure out a way for you to answer the questions truthfully without you looking like you're about to throw up. Yes?"

I stop and sit down on the chair again. "Okay. Sorry, the wound its still open. Let's give it another go. Ask again"

She smiles a soft smile. "Okay. Why do you think they decided to create a new dinosaur?"

I think about it for a few seconds, then answer. "I can't tell you for sure. Again, as I mentioned before, my only job was to train the raptors. I had no knowledge of administrative plans. But what I can tell you, is that power is a dangerous thing. Simon Masrani had that. Power, that is. It can be blinding, you know? Sometimes the greed for more power can corrupt even the nicest person. Maybe they lost sight of why they even built the park in the first place"

"Why did they build the park?"

"To remind us how small and how new we are"

Claire nods and smiles at me. "That was excellent, Owen. You never said that Simon Masrani was innocent, but you didn't out right blame him, either. It allows people to put themselves in his position, makes them think what they would do with so much power. That was perfect. How do you feel about that answer?"

"Better. I'm still pissed, mainly at _freaking_ Wu, but I feel better answering the question that way"

"Good, good. Want to keep going?" She says opening the file again.

"Sure, why not?" I respond, my voice dripping with sarcasm.

"You'll like this next question, I promise. How does one manage to control velociraptors to do your bidding?" She looks at me, still smiling. She's remembering when she went looking for me at my bungalow.

"It's not about control. It's a relationship…"

She kept asking me questions and I gladly kept answering them. She didn't have to call me out much on my posture or whatever. After the second question, I pretty much mastered the poker face.

The next time I looked at my watch, it was 11:30pm.

"Holy shit, Claire. Look at the time! We've been doing this for 5 hours!"

"Really? Oh, God. We should probably go to bed. They're picking us up tomorrow at 8am"

"We _should_ go to bed. Do you prefer the right side or the left side of the bed?" I wiggle my eyebrows. She does not look impressed.

"We should go to our _own_ beds, in our respective rooms" She closes the file and puts it on the desk.

"You could've been a little more gentle with me. Wait, what about you? You haven't practiced your answers"

"I did. I went through them while you were out"

Okay, _what_? "Are you telling me that what I did in 5 hours, you did in one?!"

"Yes"

Incredible! and not in the good way.

"Oh, come on! How could you possibly be so sure of yourself? I mean, I admire that, it is one of the things I love most about you, but there's no way and I mean no way, that you went through 45 questions in one h…"

I am abruptly stopped by Claire planting a kiss right on my lips. Like, in the mouth.

"Goodnight, Owen"

"Okay, yep. Goodnight, Claire"

I float back to my room and I sleep all through the night like a baby.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5:

I wake up at 6:50am. I lay on the bed for the next 10 minutes so I can fully wake up. Once I do that, I practically leap off the bed. It's nice waking up this happy.

 _So_ nice.

I have a quick shower, put on my nicest pair of jeans (4 year old levi's, but who's to know?), a light blue shirt, brown shoes and I'm off to the dining hall to have some breakfast. I'm hoping I run into Claire in the dining room and maybe have breakfast together? But I have no such luck. The dining room is filled with business people, all looking serious while reading today's newspaper.

I choose to have a buffet breakfast. I have no idea how long I'm going to be stuck at headquarters, so I rather have a substantial breakfast. Better safe than sorry.

While I'm eating, I start thinking about last night. The kiss. That was amazing and not just for the obvious reasons; she kissed me. _She_ kissed _me_. The two kisses we've shared, I've been the one kissing her. Both times completely out of the blue. Now she was the one that initiated it.

 _Yes_! A million times, _yes_!

After two bowls of cereal, a whole-wheat bagel with cream cheese, orange juice, a blueberry muffin and a coffee, I decide I've eaten enough to survive the next two years. I quickly head back to my bedroom to brush my teeth and grab my things.

I'm down at the lobby by 7:45am. So I sit and wait for Claire. 5 minutes later, she's stepping out of the elevator looking glorious. She looks around until she spots me. She smiles and starts walking towards me.

"Good morning, Owen" she says, her eyes shining.

"Good morning, Claire"

She's looking at me as if expecting something. I don't know if she's thinking the same thing I am, but just in case I'm reading the whole situation wrong, I lean in and give her a kiss on the cheek.

I feel like a _damn_ 12 year old!

She only looks mildly disappointed. So, I didn't read it wrong. _Shit_.

"I knocked on your door at around 7:20am. I was expecting you to open the door and tell me of the ungodliness of waking up at this hour, but you didn't open, so I assumed you were having breakfast"

"Really? And _I_ would've assumed that _you_ would assume I was still sleeping. Why trust that I'd follow the programmed schedule? I never have"

Without missing a beat she says, "Well, they say that without trust, no relationship can blossom"

I grin like the Cheshire cat. I swear to God, I will fucking marry this woman someday.

"No truer words have ever been spoken. By the way, you look beautiful"

She blushes. So damn cute.

"Thanks. You're not looking too bad yourself. Are you trying to impress someone, Owen?"

"Only one" I wink at her.

The car Masrani Global sends arrives at the hotel to pick us up at exactly 8am. The ride there is not too long, about a 20-minute drive. Halfway there, Claire starts telling me to answer the questions just like I did last night. If they say something I don't particularly like, I should take a deep breath, think of a way of expressing my hate for whatever they have said in a non aggressive way and to try and avoid exploding.

"These people don't respond to outbursts. The minute someone so much as raises their voice, they start being ignored by everyone else in the room and if it gets a little too out of hand, they could even call security. Trust me, I've seen it happen"

"I'll try my best" I look out the window and whisper "… to not punch them"

"I heard that" she says punching me lightly on the arm.

"Sorry. I'll really try, I promise"

I decide to be bold. I grab her hand and lace my fingers with hers.

She looks down at our hands and then looks up at me.

"I know you will"

She doesn't let go until we get to Masrani Global.

The meeting didn't go as bad as I expected it to go. The whole time we were in a conference room with three other people. Two were from public relations and the other was some kid typing notes like crazy on his laptop.

The two people from public relations were Alba Smith and Joaquín Burgos. Alba was from Scotland and Joaquín from Uruguay. Just their accents made the whole thing a lot more fun. We were there until 12:30pm. I had been seated for so long, I was worried my ass crack was going to disappear. Just when I was about to stand up, Alba and Joaquín told us we were good to go.

We went through all the questions, they told us which ones they were more likely to ask us and more importantly, they told us when we had to answer them. The Diane Sawyer interview is going to be in 3 days at the hotel and is going to last about 2 hours. In front of a damn camera and lights, for 2 hours. Yep, not looking forward to that.

We say our goodbyes and head back to the hotel to have some lunch. The ride back was quiet. A comfortable quiet. We were both tired from sitting there answering question after question, but at least we got that out of the way.

We step out of the car and into the hotel. I feel relieved that the most tedious part of the day is over with. Now, Claire and I have to talk about what our strategy is going to be during the interviews.

"You want to grab lunch and discuss it while we eat?" she asks, walking into the dinning area.

"I can sit with you if you want. I ate a big breakfast and by big I mean, I devoured everything I laid my eyes on"

"Why exactly did you do that?" Amusement dancing in her eyes.

"Hey, I didn't know we were going to be there for 4 hours. I thought it was going to take us a lot longer that that! You can't blame me for stocking up"

"Actually, I can. That was the whole point of practicing last night. So you could be prepared and therefore safe time"

She's looking at me with that face she makes, like she's talking to a five year old.

"Well, I'm sorry. I would've probably been able to assume that myself, but somebody's lips distracted me from doing that, so…"

I shouldn't have said that. Now she knows what she does to me, and she knows it. She gives me a cocky smile and turns on her heels to walk to the dining room. I grunt and follow her.

God, I'm so whipped.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6:

We sat in the dining room for 3 hours. I was telling her that she had exaggerated about the way people were at Masrani Global and she told me that her experiences had been that way. We started talking about how we would handle the answering of questions during the interviews. We agreed not to interrupt each other and to only add things to each other's answers that wouldn't lead to other questions, that way we can avoid being caught off guard.

By the time Claire had finished eating her grilled salmon, my stomach started making whale noises. Really _loud_ whale noises.

"I thought you said you had eaten a big breakfast." she says drinking her iced tea.

I look down at my stomach and then up at her "I did! But apparently its all been digested."

I start looking right and left until I spot a waiter and ask for a menu.

"Well, if the stomach wants it, the stomach gets it. Yes, could I have a BLT with fries and a Budweiser, please?"

"Of course, sir." The waiter takes the menu and I turn to Claire.

"Oh, don't look at me like that. It's a good ol' American lunch."

"I'm mainly impressed by the amount of food you eat. Where do you even put it all?"

"See Claire, the wonderful thing about the human body is that everything that comes in, must come out one way or the other." I smile at her. I love it when we banter at each other, and I can tell it's about to happen.

She scrunches up her face and says "Owen, that's disgusting."

"What! You do it too!"

"Owen, stop! That's a very inappropriate talk to have while we're eating!"

"We're not eating right now! I never understood why people act all grossed out. We all do it! It's normal. It wouldn't be normal if you didn't poop!"

"God! Keep your voice down. You have no filter do you?" she says leaning forward.

"Nope, and that's why you like me. Admit it. All your life you've been surrounded by people who control every single word they say and every single thing they do. I spice things up by saying and doing whatever I want, whether people will approve of it or not."

She leans back and starts chewing on her bottom lip.

"You have me all figured out, don't you?"

"I don't think so. We haven't even been to our second date, Claire."

"Speaking of, when are we going to have that date?"

"Oh, I already started planning it. But you are going to have to wait until all of this is over. That way we can have all the time in the world"

She looks surprised. "You're planning it? I thought Owen Grady didn't plan anything"

"Of course I'm planning our date. I want it to be perfect, and perfect can't happen without some planning."

She raises an eyebrow, "So when is this date going to be again?"

"As soon as all of this is over."

"In two weeks."

"Two weeks."

A little time later, my BLT is brought to me and I eat it with such gusto even Claire can't resist a bite from my burger. After I'm done eating, we decide to take a stroll around town. Claire asks me to wait for her in the lobby while she changes clothes. While I wait for her, I start looking at the brochures they have for tourists, to see if there are any new attractions we could see. I'm so focused reading a brochure about Cirque Du Soleil, I don't even hear Claire come up behind me.

"Hey, you ready to go?"

I jump, "Motherf…! I think I peed a little."

She laughs "Oh come on! I wasn't even trying to scare you!"

"That might not have been your intention but you certainly did!"

She pats me on the back "Okay, I'm sorry. Now let's get going! We're wasting daylight."

I stand up straight and salute her, "Ma'am, yes, Ma'am."

She grabs my hand and starts walking towards the door. "Come on, soldier."

From the hotel's main door in Times Square to Central Park, we talk about anything and everything. It's kind of nice actually, not having to talk about questions and interviews. So far, this walk has been amazing. We stop and sit on the edge of the big fountain in the park.

"So, how come I don't know much about you? Where you come from and the like." she asks, sitting on her left leg while swinging her right one a bit.

"I could say the same thing about you."

I'm trying to deflect her questions as long as I can. Where I come from and my family are sensitive spots. But I know it won't be long before she has me spilling my guts out.

"You know more about me than I know you. You know I have an older sister, two nephews, that I am from Wisconsin, that I'm a bit of a workaholic…"

I bark a laugh "A bit?! Your middle name is work!"

She looks at me a bit annoyed. It doesn't last long. "Actually my middle name is Dallas… and that's one more thing you know about me now."

"Your name's Claire Dallas Dearing?! Wow! Why Dallas?" Keep deflecting. But I actually want to know.

She groans, "My parents had this gross thing, were they decided to name us after the place we were conceived in. I know, gross!"

"Yeez, that's quite… unique. Wait, what's Karen's middle name?" You're running out of questions to ask, Owen.

Claire tilts her head to the right "India. Her middle name is India. Don't think I don't know what you're doing. You're deflecting."

Busted.

"Sorry. It's just that my family is a bit of a soft spot for me. I don't talk about or to them much."

Her face softens; she puts her hand on my thigh.

"Okay. How about we do this. I ask you rapid-fire questions and if you don't want to answer one, just say pass. Tell me what you feel comfortable with. I promise I won't ask you to give me any big, complicated explanation. You'll tell me the rest when you feel ready."

I don't know what I did in my past life to deserve her, but I'm glad I did whatever it was. This time, we both lean forward at the same time and kiss. Stars explode behind my eyelids. Everything around us disappears. In this moment it's just us, and I know we're just getting to know each other, but I know for a fact, I will never kiss another woman ever again except her.

We eventually have to break the kiss so we can breathe. She leans her forehead against mine. Her eyes are still closed. I run my thumb along her bottom lip and she opens her eyes and smiles.

"Ask away, Claire Dallas Dearing."

She laughs and sits up straight. "Okay. Ready?" I nod.

"Where did you grow up?"

"New Haven, Connecticut."

"Do you have a middle name?"

"Yes, I do. Next question."

She puts her hand in the water and throws some water at my face.

"Hey! Didn't I answer your question?!"

"You know damn well you didn't!"

"You have to be more specific. I don't read minds."

"Ugh, fine! Do you have a middle name and what is it?"

"See, now that's specific. My middle name is Luca."

Her eyes widen a little. "Italian. Named after someone?"

"Yes, my maternal grandfather. He was a first generation American. His parents came from Florence."

"Okay, Owen Luca Grady. Do you have any siblings and what are their names?"

Now that is a question I'll answer gladly and proudly. "Just one; a sister. Her name is Isabella, she's 22 years old. She's my favorite person in the world."

She nods and smiles one of those closed mouth smiles and continues.

"Why did you enlist in the navy?"

"Nonno Luca was in the navy; a soldier during the Second World War. When I was a kid, he would tell me of the time they saved a whole family from a fire started by a hand grenade in Salerno. There was a little girl among the people they saved, maybe 4 or 5 years old. After they were taken to safety, the soldiers said their goodbyes and the little girl approached my grandfather and gave him a ribbon. She hugged him and thanked him for saving her family. Since he told me that story, I've wanted to help people, _save_ people, like my grandpa did. So, a year after I graduated, the opportunity presented itself and I took it."

"So that's where it comes from. I wondered why you didn't even hesitate to help me find Zach and Gray, even though the possibility of dying was very real. I guess I have your nonno to thank for that."

I sigh, "Yeah, he was an amazing dude. He passed away during my third tour. When I found out, I was devastated. I became reckless. I would put myself in situations that weren't safe. It's a miracle I didn't get killed. My lieutenant noticed and sent me home. He told me I needed to grief and I couldn't do that in a place surrounded by death."

Claire doesn't let me wallow in my own misery. She grabs my hand, gives it a tight squeeze and asks the next question.

"When was the last time you talked to your parents?"

I rub my face "Directly? 11 years ago. Through Isabella? 8 months ago. I haven't heard their voices in 11 years."

She puts her head on my shoulder "Do you miss them?"

"Yes. More than I like to admit."

Claire hums. We stay like that for a while, in companionable silence, enjoying each other's company.

"Claire?"

"Yes?"

"Do you want a pretzel?"

She raises her head really fast (she almost got me on the chin) and gives me that deadpanned glare that I love.

"What is with you and food?"

"Food is life, Claire. Plus, it's been almost 4 hours since our last meal. It's a perfectly acceptable moment to have an afternoon snack."

I stand up in front of her and stretch out my hand. "Come on, we can grab it in our way out. We should get back anyway, it's getting dark."

She looks at me and reaches for my hand.

I buy the pretzel and eat it by myself. I offered her some but she said something about 'a moment on your lips, forever on your hips' or some nonsense like that. It's close to 8pm when we get to the hotel. It's nowhere near late, but we have been up since early, so we decide to call it a day. I walk Claire to her room.

"I had a really good time today, Owen."

"Me too. I think we could call it our unofficial second date. What do you think?"

"I think we can call it that. Thank you, by the way, for trusting me enough to tell me all the things you told me today. It means a lot."

"Of course. Now though, you know more about me than I know about you. So, how about in our official second date, I'm the one asking you the rapid-fire questions?"

"I think that's only fair. By the way, tomorrow a reporter of the New York Times is coming at 11am, so we don't have to wake up as early as today."

"Wanna have breakfast together. 9am?"

"Yes."

"Yes? Great! See you tomorrow then."

"Okay."

I grab both of her hands and kiss her. Slow and amazing and out this world. We break it off and I kiss her loudly on the cheek, she giggles.

"Goodnight, Owen."

"Goodnight, Claire."

She opens the door to her room, goes in and closes it. I turn around and start walking towards my room while doing a happy dance.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7:

I'm knocking on Claire's door at 8:50am, anxious to get my day started. Who would've thought? Owen Grady wanting to get his day started at the ass crack of dawn. Well, is not really that early, but anyone who knows me knows I am _not_ a morning person.

Claire opens the door. She's wearing jeans and a blue blouse, that's tucked into her jeans. She doesn't look as happy as I was expecting her to look.

"Morning, Claire. How you doing?" I ask her with a lift in my eyebrow.

"Not that good. I woke up at 3am with a killer headache. Its mostly passed but I still feel a little out of it"

Yes, she doesn't look too good. I can see she is down playing it, though. Like she is wont to do. Her grip on the door is a little too tight, her eyes are a little unfocused and she looks like she wants to close her eyes and be dead to the world for the next 24 hours.

"Do you feel like eating?"

"Not sure. I think I need to have the food in front of me. Then you'll have your answer" She starts squinting. The light of the corridor is starting to bother her.

"Okay, tell you what. Why don't we go inside and ask for room service. Once the food get's here if you feel like eating, we eat and if you don't, just lie down and rest. Sound good?"

She nods and let's me in. She lies on the bed and throws her arm over her eyes. I grab the phone and call room service. While I'm on hold, I see Claire turn her back to the big floor-to-ceiling window. I walk to it and close the blackout drapes to try and make her more comfortable. It looks like it could be midnight inside the room. She turns and mouths 'thank you' and closes her eyes. A voice greets me through the phone.

"Good morning, my name is Derek. How can I help you?"

"Hello Derek. I would like to order some breakfast, please"

"Of course, sir. Would you tell me your order, please?"

"I want chocolate chip pancakes, cereal and milk and for my lady here, a fruit salad, freshly pressed orange juice and whole wheat toast with cream cheese and strawberry marmalade"

"Perfect, sir. Your breakfast should be delivered to you in the next 15 to 20 minutes. Anything else I can do for you?"

"A jar of ice cold water and a sleeping mask would be wonderful, Derek"

"Yes, sir. Anything else, please don't hesitate to call me"

"Great. Thanks, man"

I hung up and put the phone down. I turn around towards Claire and I see her giving me a lazy smile.

"What?"

"How do you know what I eat for breakfast?" She sits up a little.

Aw, man! That's not going to be embarrassing to answer _at all_.

"Uh, back on the island, when I saw you for the first time I had no idea who you were. The only thing I knew was that you were obviously from administration and insanely hot." At that, she shakes her head slightly. The amused smile never leaving her face. "I was curious as to what your job was, so later that day after my monthly meeting with the head of veterinary, I looked for your office, you know to see what your title was. When I found it, your secretary wasn't there, so I looked around her desk and found her to-do list for the day. In it, was your breakfast order."

"When was that?"

"A couple of months after I was hired"

"So you remember reading what I liked for breakfast 2 years ago and you just assumed I still ate the same thing?" Oh, she's enjoying this. Torturing me like this even in her headache haziness.

"It's not exactly an uncommon breakfast and you're a woman of habit. Breakfast is a very set thing for most people"

"Hmm. You eat breakfast like an 8 year old, by the way. And what are the ice water and sleeping mask for?" She asks lying down on the bed again.

"They're for you. They will make you feel better, I promise. My mum used to get really bad migraines and those things would ease her pain a lot." I sit on the couch, in front of the tv.

"Okay, I trust you" She closes her eyes. After a few minutes she calls me and pats the bed.

"Do you want to lie down here with me?" Her eyes never opening, her left arm still thrown over her eyes.

I'm about to make some smart comment about her trying to bed me, but I decide to not ruin the moment.

"Yeah"

I walk over and sit on the bed to her right. I take off my shoes and lean backwards on the headboard. I'm not sure what to do. I don't want to be too cuddly cause she's not feeling well, but also I don't want her to think that I don't appreciate the offer.

As if she knew what was going through my head, she grabs my hand with her right one and intertwines her fingers with mine. I give her hand a tight squeeze and leave her be.

The moment of silence doesn't last long because there's a knock on the door. Claire moans.

"Breakfast's here" I let go of her hand and go open the door.

"Good morning, sir. Where would you like me to put this?"

"Don't worry, buddy. I got it." I pull out a $5 bill and hand it to him.

"Thank you, sir. Enjoy"

I roll in the trolley and place it on the foot of the bed. I grab the fruit salad, a fork and a napkin and sit on the bed.

"Okay, do you feel like eating or not?" She sits, leaning back on the headboard and stares down at the plate. She grabs it, stabs a piece of watermelon and holds it in front of her mouth for a few seconds before she pops it in.

She chews slowly and then nods. "I guess I could eat a little bit"

"Awesome! Now, let me grab my pancakes"

I walk over to the trolley and pour maple syrup all over my pancakes. I pour some orange juice for Claire and sit back on the bed again. We eat quietly. She's eating her fruit salad very delicately, eating a piece of fruit at the time, very ladylike. Meanwhile, I'm devouring my pancakes like they were going to be snatched from me at any moment. Bad habit I acquired back on the navy. A group of guys would always choose a victim on the days the kitchen would make pancakes or waffles for breakfast. They would take your breakfast and then you would have to sing a song if you wanted it back. It wasn't malicious or anything, but I really didn't want to sing, so I would inhale my food.

Halfway done with her fruit salad, Claire announces she no longer wants to keep eating.

"Can you please try and eat some toast. I really think that if you don't eat something substantial then your headache will get worse"

She rubs her eyes and exhales loudly. "Okay. Can you spread cream cheese on it? Not too much, please"

"Sure. Some marmalade too?" She nods. I give her two pieces of toast. She eats it slowly, taking small sips of orange juices in between, as if afraid her stomach might react badly to it. When she finishes, I take her plate and glass from her, put it on the trolley and tell her to drink the ice cold water.

"The cold water will help keep you cool. That way we at least make sure temperature is not a factor and the sleeping mask is to completely block out the lights. Here you go"

"Thanks" She drinks the water and puts the sleeping mask on her forehead. "Oh, by the way, the interview with the NY Times got pushed back to 4pm"

"Good, then you can get a good rest. I'll leave you alone then. I'll put the 'do not disturb' sign on. I'll put the trolley outside." I start pushing the trolley out of the room, when Claire stops me.

"Wait. Do all that. Except, except leave. Would you mind?" she's biting down on her lip and playing with the covers.

She's seeking comfort and company, and I can definitely give her both.

"Of course. Just let me put this outside" I grab the cereal box and put it on the night stand. No food shall be wasted on my watch.

I come back into the room and get inside the covers with Claire. She lowers the sleeping mask to cover her eyes and rests her head on my chest. I kiss her forehead and we both fall asleep in each other's arms.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8:

"What?" What is that? I groan. It's my phone. I look down to see Claire's still asleep. I gingerly reach into my pocket and pull out my phone.

"Hello?" I whisper, not wanting to wake up Claire.

"Owen, it's Phillip. What's up, man?" This dude is always happy. Even relatively early in the morning.

"Hey, Phil. You woke me up, man." I rub my eyes.

"Woke you up? Brother, it's 3pm. Have you been partying till the am?" he laughs.

Holy shit! 3pm?!

"Wait, give me a sec." I, very gently, move Claire off my chest and onto a pillow. I wait for a few seconds to see if I've interrupted her sleep. Nothing, sound asleep. I walk to the bathroom, close the door and sit on the edge of the tub.

"Okay. I can talk now."

"Why couldn't you talk? Did you have company?" In my mind's eye I can see him wiggling his eyebrows at me.

"Yes, but not in the way that you think. Claire had a headache and we both fell asleep. Thank God you called, man. We have an interview with a reporter down at the lobby in an hour. We didn't even think to set the alarm clock."

"Well, I'll make this quick then. I already have a menu thought out; I just emailed it to you. I need you to approve it and find out if she's allergic to anything. I don't want to be responsible for the demise of your other half, you know. I feel it would ruin our friendship."

I laugh. "Don't worry, man. I'll check it out tonight and I'll let you know right away. Thanks again for doing this, buddy. You know you are my one true love, right?"

"Oh honey, I knew it from the moment you lent me your Crayola box. Okay, man. I'll leave you to keep sleeping with your lady. Set the alarm clock, for God's sake. You wouldn't want to miss the interview, super star."

"Okay, Phil. Talk to you later. Bye."

"Bye, brother."

I hang up and look at myself in the mirror. Well, I definitely look well rested. I look at the time. _3:08pm._ Okay, I should let Claire know the time. So she can start waking up and take her time with it.

I stand up, wash my face and go sit on the bed next to Claire.

I put my hand on her shoulder and shake her slightly. "Claire, wake up."

She groans, but doesn't move. I give it another go. "Wake up, Claire. Don't make me tickle you." My hands are slowly approaching her sides.

"Don't you dare." she grabs my hands. Good, she's awake now.

"You don't have to get up yet, but definitely start waking up, cause Claire Dallas, it's 3:10pm."

Her right hand goes to lift the sleeping mask up. She looks groggy, obviously, but that 'don't shit with me' look is as clear as day. "What?"

I pull my cellphone out of my pocket, unblock it and show it to her. "See? 3:11pm now."

"Oh my God. I can't believe we slept like… 7 hours!"

"You certainly needed the rest. How are you feeling?"

She sits up on the bed. I copy her movements and look at her. "Good. I feel good. I think I'm still going to take a couple of advil just in case, but I feel pretty good. Thank you."

I grab her hand and give it a squeeze. "Hey, my pleasure. I'm just glad you're feeling better. Imagine me doing the interview alone? Can you imagine the things I would probably say? Nope, I would probably lead Masrani Global to bankruptcy."

"I think you underestimate your ability to charm people. You got my attention. And it wasn't because of your ability to plan a first date."

I grab my chest and grunt dramatically. "Ah, that hurt. You know what, you are going to be so blown away by our second date, you're going to beg for my forgiveness for calling me a terrible date planner."

"You keep saying our second date is going to be amazing. What is it that you're planning exactly? You got me wondering, now."

I cross my arms and smile at her cockily. "Now you'll just have to wait until that day. Which is in 11 days. So, you know… be prepared for awesomeness." I do jazz fingers.

She gives me a no-nonsense look. "Fine, I'll wait. But the day before you've got to tell me where we're going, cause I need to know what to wear."

"Woman, you could wear a brown paper bag and you would still look amazing."

Charm: on.

"Okay, Casanova. Save it for the actual date. Now though, let's start getting ready. I'm just going to change this blouse, because it's all wrinkled now. You should do the same." She stands up from the bed and walks to the walking closet.

"I should change my blouse too?"

"Ha ha, very funny. Go, we don't want to rush."

I decide to see if I can fluster Claire. I was wearing a Polo sweater over my shirt. No one will be the wiser if I'm not wearing a shirt under it.

I stand up from the bed and take off my shirt. I hear Claire moving coat hangers, so I lie on the bed, grab my phone and star checking my emails.

There's an intake of breath and I'm doing my best to not laugh out loud.

"What are you doing?" she's has a violet coloured blouse on her hand.

"What? I don't have that many shirts, so I figured I'll just take this one off and wear my sweater instead. What's the big deal?"

She's dying! This is so awesome!

"You are lying on my bed topless." She's trying to look away, but it's like her brain wants her to do something and her eyes another.

"Are you kidding me?! You have a six pack, that's ridiculous!"

"Ms. Dearing, are you checking me out? You can come and count my muscles if you want." I put my arms behind my head and tighten the stomach muscles.

"Stop doing that, Owen! We're going to be late."

"Late? What are you planning to do to me exactly?"

I can't keep it in any longer. I start laughing, really hard. She's looking at me incredulous. After a minute, she starts laughing with me.

By the time we've stopped, my stomach muscles are hurting from all the laughing. Claire and I look at each other and laugh one more time.

"You're unbelievable. How would you feel if I did that? Laying on your bed topless?" her hand is holding her side.

I become very serious. "Don't toy with me woman. I'm not that strong."

She's looking at me like a temptress, seducing me. "So, if I changed my blouse right here, right now, you wouldn't be able to stay put on that bed?" Her hands are reaching for the buttons of her blouse.

"Don't. Please don't." I sit up straight.

"What? I'm just going to change my blouse. Nothing else." She starts unbuttoning her blouse, painfully slow.

"Claire, I'm serious. I'm not strong enough." I run a hand through my face.

She starts walking tentatively towards me, biting down on her bottom lip, she leans close to my ear and says "Good, cause I'm not going to." she kisses me on the cheek and laughs her way to the bathroom.

I grunt and drop my head on the pillow. "You're killing me, Claire!" I shout. I hear her laugh.

When she comes back from the bathroom she looks impeccable and ready to go. I am too. She grabs her purse, I grab my phone and wallet and we are out the door to have that interview.

The interview lasts 1 hour. The journalist, his name was Oliver Koenig, was very professional and very straight to the point, which I liked. He asked us the basics, at least 6 questions out of the 45 pre approved ones I practiced with Claire, the rest were mainly about our work and our involvement. I felt comfortable and secure answering all of the questions. Claire as always was very professional and responded every question flawlessly.

Oliver told us we could expect the interview to be published on Wednesday. He thanked us for our time and left.

"That went well, huh?" Claire said excited.

"Yeah, that wasn't that bad. Can we expect all interviews to be like that?"

"I don't know. It really depends on the journalist. Some can be real jerks. But at least we started on the right foot."

"Yeah, that's good. Want to go grab some late lunch? Pizza maybe. We have to eat pizza, it would be a crime not to."

She shakes her head. Probably wondering if there's ever a time I don't think of food. The answer is no. I always think of food, it's my happy place.

"Okay, let's go eat pizza."

I grab her hand, kiss the back of it and we are off to eat some New York pizza!


	9. Chapter 9

_There's some Italian for you guys. You're kinda supposed to feel like Claire in that part, but I guess if you really want to know, just translate it. Enjoy!_

Chapter 9:

We took a cab to Lombardi's and had to wait 20 minutes for a table. That place is always packed! The pizza is so unbelievably good though, I'll wait for an hour just to have a slice.

Once we got a table, a waiter came immediately and poured water in our glasses for us, welcomed us and gave us the menu.

"Okay, Claire. Time to find out a bit more about you. Thin crust or thick crust?"

She frowns and smiles. "Definitely, thin crust."

"Why?"

"Because I want the sauce, the cheese and the toppings to be the predominant ingredients I taste, not the crust. Where's the fun in eating a pizza that's mainly bread?"

"I agree with you 100%. But I don't like it too thin, either. It wouldn't be a pizza without a visible crust."

"True. Anything else you'll like to know?"

"Yes, what wine would you drink with pizza?"

She puts down the menu and purses her lips. "Well, I would go for red wine, obviously. Malbec. My personal choice? A 2009 Cicchitti."

Wow, she knows her wines. I was expecting a 'white or red wine' answer.

I whistle. "Look at that. She's a connaisseuse too."

She squints a little. "Were you expecting anything else?"

"Nope, definitely no. I don't know why I'm even surprised at this point."

"Hopefully, there's plenty more for you to be surprised about."

"Oh my God. Are you flirting with me, pretty lady?"

"Do you not want me to? 'Cause there are plenty of men around here. Actually the guy who's behind you is pretty hot, I think I might give it a go…"

She's putting her cloth napkin on the table and motions to stand up, but I react fast and grab her wrist.

"Claire, do you want to eat pizza?"

She looks confused. "Um, yes."

"Then don't even think about flirting with anyone else because I might kill them and then we'll never get to eat anything."

She taps her lips. "Mmm, flirt with hot guy or eat pizza. I mean pizza is delicious but that guy looks yummy too…"

"Oh, that's how we are playing? Okay, well that girl over there looks super sexy in that dress, I might just, what did you say? Give it a go."

Before I can even attempt to stand up, Claire stops me with what she says.

"We should make it official then." She has an amused look on her.

"We should make what official?" Ooh, I think I know.

She drinks some water and looks me right in the eye.

"Us. That we're officially dating. What do you think?"

What do I _think_? Uh, yes! Obviously, I mean what?! Of course! She's the most wonderful everything I've ever met!

I don't voice my whole thought process out loud so instead I say:

"Only with one condition."

"And what might that be?"

"We're exclusive. Deal?"

She pretends like she's thinking about it. "That means no flirting with hot guy over there?"

"Nope. I'm the only hot guy you flirt with. So?"

"Okay, I'll make the sacrifice. You want to seal it?" She leans forward a bit.

"Sure"

At the same time, I spit on my hand while she puckers up her lips and leans even closer.

" _What_ are you doing?" She looks at me a bit… disgusted.

"Sealing it. Oh, you meant… Okay, sorry. My bad."

I kiss her but she's still looking at me confused. I mean, why did I even think Claire would spit on her hand? Seriously Owen, think a little.

Claire pulls her purse up and searches through it. She pulls out a small bottle of hand sanitizer, pops it open and looks at me.

I stretch out my hand and she pours some on them and then on hers.

"Thanks." I feel a little like a 5 year old who just got scolded by his mum for getting himself dirty.

"You're welcome, you weirdo." she throws the bottle inside her purse and then hangs it on the hook under the table.

I laugh, then she laughs and the weird moment passes.

"So, what kind of pizza do you feel like eating?"

She starts reading the menu. "Anything with lots of meat in it. I haven't eaten a proper pizza in a very long time. Today there will be no restrictions from my part."

I close the menu, cross my arms and put them on top of it. "Do you mind if I order for the both of us? I wasn't going to order this particular pizza, but since you're going wild this afternoon, I think you might enjoy it."

"Sure. What does this pizza have?"

"Be surprised?"

She smiles and then nods.

"Awesome! Waiter. Please tell the chef that Owen Grady is here and if he could be so kind as to make us a GV pizza for 2, please."

"Of course, sir. I'll tell him right away. Anything I can get you to drink?"

"Do you have a 2009 Cicchitti?"

"I believe we do. Two glasses?"

The waiter looks at Claire and she stutters a bit. "Uh, y-yes, yes."

"I'll bring you your glasses immediately."

"Thanks." The waiter leaves and I smile a bit cockily at Claire who's a bit shocked by all.

"What was _that_?! And what is a GV pizza, it's not listed on the menu, and how do you know the chef?"

"Well, the name and story of the pizza is for another time, I'm afraid. The chef though, I met him in my university days. Chef Eros, is a true Italian and I think he smelled it on me. There was a holiday and Phillip and I; remember Phillip? The friend I told you about? Okay, well we spent the whole week we had off here in Manhattan and everyday we would come for pizza. Chef noticed and we started talking and when I told him my grandfather was Italian, we became great friends instantly. He's a really nice guy. He'll come out and say hi if the kitchen is not too swamped."

"You ate pizza everyday for a week? Pizza is not the only thing they serve here, Owen."

"I know, but why fix it if it's not broken? I love pizza and I never get bored of it. So I ordered it everyday."

"I don't think I will ever understand your passion for eating food."

"You don't have to, but I beg of you to never take that away from me. I love food!"

"Okay, I promise to never come in between you and your food."

"Thank you." I grab her hand and give it a squeeze.

I hear a throaty laugh and I know who it is immediately.

"Owen, amico! È stato troppo lungo! Un abbraccio al vecchio Eros!"

I wink at Claire and stand up to hug the man.

"Chef Eros, come stai? Si guarda bene, vecchio uomo." I pat him a couple of times on the back.

"Il cameriere non ha nemmeno bisogno di dire tuo nome. Il momento che hosentito pizza GV, sapevo che eri tu. Anche dopo tutti questi anni." He slaps me on the shoulder.

"Mi dispiace, chef ma ero dinosauri di allenamento occupato. Ma ho pensato di vostra pizza quando ho camminato attraverso la sala da pranzo."

With a very thick Italian accent he starts speaking English when he notices Claire.

"Not to worry, ragazzo. You're here now. And who is this lovely lady?"

"Oh, sorry. This is Claire. La raggazza più bella del mondo. Claire, this is Chef Eros Birbiglia."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Claire. And Owen is right, you are very beautiful."

 _And_ she's blushing.

She laughs and stretches out her hand to shake chef's. "Grazie ed è molto bello conoscerti troppo, Chef Eros."

 _What?!_

"Heavens, she speaks Italian too?! Owen, amico, keep her forever."

Now, I'm the one stuttering. "I-I didn't know she spoke Italian. There you go surprising me again."

"I don't really speak Italian, just a few survival phrases and I remember them because Italian is similar to Spanish so…"

"Well, a little Italian is better than no Italian. Have you ordered something to drink already?" Chef Eros asks holding his intertwined hands in front of him.

The waiter approaches us answering the question. "Yes, chef. A 2009 Cicchitti to go with their pizza. Ms. is this bottle alright?"

Claire reads the label nods and the waiter serves her some on her glass so she can taste it. She nods again and he proceeds to serve us both and leaves the bottle.

"Excellent choice, truly perfetto, Claire. Well, I'll leave you two to it. It was very nice meeting you. Enjoy."

"Nice meeting you too, Chef Eros."

He pads me on the back one more time and he goes back to the kitchen.

"You speak Italian?" she says swirling her wine in the glass.

"Yes. My grandparents didn't see why they had to speak English to us. Even my mum would speak Italian to us sometimes."

"Okay, but that's pretty much perfect Italian you just spoke there. You must've spent a lot of time with them."

"I did. Isabella and I loved watching our grandmother bake, so we would spend a lot of time with them."

She takes a sip of her wine, looks at me and says, "I must say that was pretty sexy, Grady."

I raise an eyebrow. " _You_ were pretty sexy with your survival Italian. You'll definitely win points with nonna for that."

"She doesn't speak English?"

"Oh, she does. But she only speaks it when it's completely necessary. So you know, never. She has a bakery and all the people that work with her either already knew Italian or have come to understand it. She's extremely proud of her roots."

She starts eating the garlic sticks that were put on the table as a courtesy. "She's a first generation American too?"

I mimic her actions. "No, she's a born and raised Italian. Nonno met her during the WWII when he was stationed in Italy. They met during a civilian evacuation. After the war was over nonna showed up at nonno's house. He had no idea she was even coming to the U.S. That's when he knew she was the woman he'll marry. It had to have been meant to be. And the rest is history."

She smiles. "That's beautiful. I hope one day I…"

My phone rings. _Whyyyy?!_ I reach for my phone.

 _Oh_. It's Isabella.

"Claire? You want to meet my sister?" I turn the phone so the screen is facing her.

She raises her eyebrows, a bit surprised. "Um, yeah." She starts fixing her hair. I smile at her.

I'm about to answer her Skype call, when Claire stops me.

"Wait. Does she even know I exist?"

I scrunch up my face a bit. "Yes, she does know you exist. Does she know that we're dating? No, she doesn't." I answer the call before Claire starts telling me about how it's probably going to be awkward and inappropriate for them to meet that way.

"Isa! How is my favourite person ever?"


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10:

"You son of a bitch!"

Claire snorts and drinks some wine to try and hide her smile. Try being the operative word. I look back to the screen again. "Why all the love, sis?" What did I do now?! I haven't even talked to her in months, I –- _oh_. I haven't talked to her in months.

"Are you really asking me that, Owen?! I tried to call you but the damn calls weren't coming through and you didn't even have the decency to call and tell me you were okay?! I had to find out on damn _twitter_ that a damn dinosaur chased you _and_ that you, somehow, managed to escape unscathed! On twitter! The actual hell, man?!"

Okay. I deserve that. I really did mean to call her but I was distracted with Claire and dealing with the whole shock of being chased by dinosaurs, plus grieving the loss of 3 of my girls. And then the meetings with Masrani Global, it just didn't even occur to me that she'd be worried. I know it's stupid, but deep down I was hoping she never actually found out. Now I realise that was naïve of me. The internet is an endless source of information.

"I know, I know. I'm a complete asshole, okay? I'm sorry. There's no excuse. I should have called. I'm really sorry, Isa. Please, forgive me? Pleeeeease?" I pout and bat my eyelashes at her. I want her to meet Claire, but she has to be in a better mood. I don't want this moment to be tainted. Plus, I can't have her being mad at me. She's my baby sister!

"Don't even dare bat your eyelashes at me! I was so scared that something bad had happened to you! Mum and dad were a mess too! Especially mum, you know how she gets! You're lucky nonna was busy at the bakery that day. She probably would've had a heart attack! No, you don't get to bat your eyelashes at me and hope everything it's okay. It. Is. Not. Okay!"

My face falls. I can count on one hand how many times Isabella has truly been mad. She's a very forgiving person. She has a positive view on everything. She's _always_ finding the silver lining. So the fact that she doesn't accept my apology, really says more about me than her. I really messed up.

"Okay, okay. I fucked up big time. Tell me how I can make it better. Please, Isa. I don't want you to be mad at me. Please?"

She's looking at me, anger radiating off of her. But I can see her thinking.

"I'm going to be home in less than two weeks. I want you to come."

Crap. Of course she wants that. Two days ago I said to myself I was going to try and reconnect with my parents. But I really didn't think it would have to be so soon. I have to do it, though. Not just for Isabella, for myself too. I sigh and hang my head.

"Okay. I'll come home."

She frowns. Anger is still etched on her face, but I can tell I've surprised her. Can't blame her. I've been saying no for 11 years.

"Okay, then. Email me the date so I can let mum and dad know." Her face has softened a little.

"Of course. Just let me figure out my scheduled, give me a couple of days." I look up for a moment and remember Claire is here. _Shit_. Well, she's definitely not meeting Isabella today. But I really want her to meet Isa. An idea pops into my head. Claire is going to murder me.

"Hey, Isa? Would you mind if I brought someone with me?"

As expected, Claire's eyes widen and she starts shaking her head no.

"The last time you brought a girl over things didn't end up well. Remember? Are you sure you want to do that?" She sounds bored. Which is anger in disguise for her, really.

"That was a long time ago. Trust me, this one's special." I look up at Claire again and she's shaking her head at me, disbelievingly. Angry. Person number 2 I've managed to piss off today.

Isabella perks up a little. Much like Phillip, she's also been hoping I open up a bit more.

"Okay, fine. Whatever. I'll tell mum and dad you're not coming alone. What's her name?"

I feel the corners of my lips lifting up. "Claire. Claire Dearing."

Her eyes widen. "Claire Dearing?! Jesus Christ, man! You know what? See you when you get home!"

I laugh. "See ya. I love you, sis."

"Yeah, yeah. I love you too."

She hangs up and I look up at Claire.

"Are you insane?! How dare you make a decision like that without my consent?! You don't get to use me as a buffer! And what the _hell_ was that at the end? What have you told Isabella?!"

Holy mother of pizza! She's pissed off!

"Claire, please. Just hear me out. First, I didn't make any decisions for you. I would never do that. I was just asking her if it was okay for me to bring someone. I never said you were definitely coming with me. I just wanted her to be okay with meeting you. The decision rests with you. I know it's a huge step to meet my family, but I really want you to come with me. I don't think I can do this alone. Please? Just think about it?"

I swear I could see Claire blink away the anger. Well, most of it anyway. She still looks kind of angry with me.

"I understand that you may want some support, but that was completely out of left field and I don't appreciate it." She sighs. "Owen, from what you've told me, I can only imagine how nervous and anxious you must feel, but please try and not be impulsive. What you just did, right now, was use me as your shield to protect yourself from whatever pain you think your parents might cause you. Don't do that."

Wow. I mean, I hadn't even thought about it until she mentioned it. I did intend to use her as a shield. I don't want to do that.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. You don't have to come, okay? I'm just… scared. I don't know how I will react or how _they'll_ react. I just want to make things right with Isabella."

She reaches for my hand across the table. "I know. But Owen, you told me you miss your parents. Isabella is giving you an opportunity to finally make amends. I don't know what pulled you apart from each other, but they obviously care and love you, if Isabella's words are anything to go by. You are a determined person, Owen. If you go back home committed to fix things, then you will. I've yet to see you fail."

I cover my face with both my hands, because I'm afraid my eyes will betray what I'm thinking – what I'm _feeling_ right now.

I love you, Claire Dearing. I _love_ you.

I inhale deeply and lower my hands from my face. I take both her hands and say, "Thank you for that, Claire. I promise I'll try my best to fix things. And I'm sorry again. I didn't mean to make you feel like that. I feel like an idiot." I shake my head. "Forgive me?"

"Apology accepted. So, when are we going to New Haven?" she says bouncing our hands a little.

"What? No, Claire. Really, you don't have to come. I promise you, I'll be fine."

She shakes her head smiling. "Everybody needs someone to lean on. And I suspect Isabella might want to pass the torch to someone else. She has done a fine job, but I think it's time she retires. Don't you think?"

I shake my head in disbelief. How could I have been so lucky? Someone who so obviously understands me without even knowing me that well? It has to be fate. If Claire in fact becomes the person I'll lean on for the rest of my life, then I'll never fall.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." I want to kiss the living daylights out of her. But somehow I don't think she'll appreciate me doing that in front of a room full of people. So instead, I settle with holding her hands.

The pizza comes and the moment the waiter puts it on the table, I practically start salivating. I can see Claire looking disbelievingly at the pizza. Yeah, the smell and the look of it is just that good!

"Wait until you try it! Have a bite first and then I'll tell you what's in it. Dig in, my dear!"

Claire grabs the spatula to lift a slice and I, like the caveman that I am, just grab one with my hand and put it directly into my mouth.

As always, Claire just shakes her head, but this time she takes a note from my book, and eats the pizza with her hands. Her eyes basically bulge out of her head once she takes the first bite.

She covers her mouth with her pizza-free hand. "Oh my God! This is so good! Please tell me what's in it!"

I wipe my mouth with a napkin. "First, the crust is brushed with virgin olive oil. Then, the tomato sauce is spread out. 100% homemade, by the way. Thirdly, basil leaves are spread out all over the sauce, then mozzarella cheese. Extra, of course. Then for the toppings we have prosciutto, black olives, peppers, pancetta, salami, ground meat and for the final touch a drizzle of truffle oil, because why not?"

I take another bite of my slice, because Jesus!

Claire looks at her slice and frowns. "This has so many calories in it."

I point at her and swallow the last bit of my slice. "Nah, uh, uh. You said there were not going to be any restrictions on your part. Now stuff that slice in your mouth! Go on!"

She raises her eyes and looks at me. "Are you still going to like me when I'm fat?"

"Are you still going to like _me_ when I'm fat?"

I can see a hint of a smile on her face, then she shrugs a little. "Probably."

"Then you have your answer."

We both devour the whole pizza to the point of no return. And I say that cause I don't know how we're going to return to the hotel. I don't think we can even stand up at this point.

We both lean back and sigh. "Well, I'm definitely going to regret that at some point. But thanks for sharing this pizza with me Owen." Claire says sitting up straight again, her manners screaming at her.

"Sure thing. Now, how about I get the check and go back to the hotel?"

"I like that, maybe lie down for a bit."

I pay the check and we're off to the hotel.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11:

It's been almost 2 weeks since we landed in New York. What does that mean? In 2 days Claire and I are having a date. Preparations are nearly ready. I just need confirmation from Phillip, and then we're ready to rock n' roll.

Since the day Claire and I we went to eat pizza all has been a jumble of activity. It all happened at once, we barely had any time to breathe. The interviews came fast and furious. We had 5 interviews with different newspapers, the Diane Sawyer interview which made me so very nervous. But Claire's reassurances and just her presence made me feel a lot more confident about myself and we managed to do pretty well, I might add. Then we closed everything off with a press conference, which lasted longer than I initially thought. Those journalists can be vicious people. Especially the ones that have blogs or sites like TMZ. Those are the worst!

The worst part though, was having to go to headquarters every time we finished an interview. They wanted us to tell them all about the reporter/journalist and what was their approach. I guess they wanted to know if we had screwed up. But they could just watch/read the damn interviews! I don't understand why we had to go there _every_ time. Claire was at a loss too.

Now, 2 days from our date, I'm anxious and waiting for Friday night to be here already. I open my laptop to read the menu Phillip had sent me one more time. It sounds delicious, but I have my moments of doubt and I don't know if Claire will like it.

 _God!_ Stop worrying! Phillip is an amazing chef, you trust him and if he thinks this will blow Claire's taste buds off her mouth, then it will!

I log off my email and I'm about to turn off my laptop when Phillip's face pops up on my screen. Shit. It's almost as if he knew I was doubting his food. I click on the answer button.

"How are things coming along, man?"

"Everything is ready to go, brother. I've already made sure to have the best people from my staff to serve you both on Friday."

"I know I've said it before, but _thank_ you, Phil. This means a lot. I don't think I'll ever be able to repay you."

"Non sense. The only thing I ask is for you not to screw it up." He laughs.

"I won't, or I'll try my best. You know how I have a penchant to screw things up."

"Yes, but somehow I don't think you will. Not when it comes to Claire, at least."

"I hope so." I think of all the things that have changed in my life, all the things that have changed about me and it's all because of Claire. I mean, I'm about to fly home to my parents, something I thought I would never do again. And it's all really because of Claire. She deserves someone who is willing to give her the moon and I plan to be anything but.

"Well, brother. I'll leave you to it. Just remember to wear your best clothes. Don't you dare show up in my restaurant with board shorts, 'cause I will have you escorted out."

I laugh. "Well, I was planning to, but I decided to just go and buy some decent clothes."

"Good, at least you'll look decent for once. Okay, brother. See you on Friday with the lady. I'll probably just pop out and introduce myself when it's time for the dessert. Also to receive the compliments I obviously deserve for the food I'll be giving you."

"Okay, Phil. I can't believe how down to earth you've turned out."

"I'm as grounded as they come. Bye, brother."

"Bye, man."

During all the chaos, I managed to set the date I'll be going home to my parents. I haven't even thought about it much to be honest. The only reason I haven't aborted the plans yet, is because of Claire. She has utter belief in me. Plus, at some point, she has to meet my parents and Isabella, which reminds me…

"Oh, now you're calling?"

"Come on. Don't be like that, Isa. Until when are you going to be pissed at me?"

"I don't know, ask me next time you see me. If you haven't found an excuse not to come yet."

Ouch. "I was actually calling to tell you that the plane tickets have been purchased and that Claire and I will be in New Haven on Sunday at 12pm. I promised you I was coming this time. When have I broken a promise to you?"

Her face softens and a soft smile appears on her face. "Never. You've never broken a promise."

"Exactly, I'm not planning on starting now. Or ever, for that matter."

She sits up straight, looks up and exhales loudly. "God, fine! You're forgiven! Happy now?!"

I do a little dance and she laughs. "Finally! I missed talking to you, sis."

"Yeah, me too." She leans forward and asks excitedly. "Now that I'm not pissed at you anymore, I gotta ask. Claire Dearing, Owen? Really? What happened with the 'This chick is too much like the ones mum kept wanting me to marry someday' shtick?"

Oh yeah, I remember. I had called Isabella as soon as the date with Claire had been over. I told her all about it. The itineraries, the tequila, even the board shorts, for good measure. I told her that Claire was the kind of woman my mum would've loved for me to marry one day. Which I had forgotten completely. My mum is going to love her. Funny the things we forget.

"I know! But after spending a whole day with her running through the jungle, you stop pretending, you know. I got to see who Claire really is. And I gotta say, me likey."

"So, she's not an uptight, boring workaholic?" she laughs.

"Oh, she's a workaholic. She's definitely not boring. She can be uptight, but really, is just a cover. She doesn't act like that around me. She's awesome. In a way, I'm glad I got to run through the jungle with dinosaurs stepping at our heels with her."

"Okay, then. I guess we like her. Have you told her?"

"Have I told her what?"

"You know what, Owen. Don't play dumb."

I sigh. "No, I haven't told her. But I definitely will before our flight. I have to, anyway. She'll realize it as soon as she steps foot in our house." I rub my face. "I don't know when, though. We have a date on Friday and I don't want to screw it up."

"Why would you screw it up if you told her? If she likes you as much as you like her, I don't see why she would care."

"I don't know. I don't want her to look at me differently."

"Dude, I think you're being insecure for no reason. Just tell her. Just make sure you _don't_ tell her on the flight here. You tend to do things a bit aggressively sometimes. Give her enough time to process it. I think maybe on Saturday? A day should be enough time. Although she might be pissed at you… I don't know, Owen. You know her. You tell me."

"I guess if the date goes as planned, then the next day she'll still be happy and then I'll drop the bomb on her. A plan as good as any, I guess."

She looks at her watch and then looks up again. "Sorry, bro. But I gotta run. I told nonna I would go to the cemetery with her to visit nonno Luca. Email me the details of your flight and I'll pick you guys up. Sound good?"

"Sounds awesome. I'll do that right now. Love you, Isa. Say hi to nonna for me. See you on Sunday."

"I will. Love you, too. See you."

Oh, God. Claire is going to murder me when I tell her. I should've just told her that day on the park. She wanted to know me, I could've dropped the bomb on her then. But, noooo. I had to wait until days before she meets my family. It had to be me. It _had_ to be me.

I put that topic out of my mind for now. I have to get the final things ready for the date. First, I need to think of questions for the rapid fire and write them down. Then, I need to go buy some decent clothes and finally, I have to tell Claire where we are going, as per her request, so she knows how to dress.

Claire and I had breakfast together and then she had received a call from HQ. So she had to leave pretty quickly after that. We agreed on having lunch together.

So, I took advantage of my time and went out and bought some nice looking cue cards to write my questions on. Now, I have to think of some. Let's start with the basics.

I feel my phone jump on the nightstand, caused by the vibrations.

"Hello?"

"Owen, it's Claire."

"Hey, how are things going over there?"

"Things are tense right now. I don't think I'll make it for lunch. I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Do what you have to do. Just remember not to strangle anyone with your glare."

"I'm not Darth Vader, Owen."

"Yeah, well. Sometimes you're a little scarier than him."

"Nice, thanks."

I laugh. "Just remember to breathe and that you have a guy waiting for you here. Yes?"

"I'll remember that. See you later then."

"See you." I hang up, hoping Claire doesn't have a difficult day today. That's all we've been having lately. I, at least, don't have to deal with those guys. So, I start writing down my questions, more determined than ever to make Friday as fun as possible for Claire.

If not for my stomach growling, I wouldn't even had looked up from my cue cards. I look at the time. 2:00pm. I have officially been writing questions down all morning and part of the afternoon. I bought a pack of 70 cue cards and I only have 5 left. I'm going to have to cut it down to 15, maybe? It's not supposed to feel like an interrogation. First things first, I have to go eat. Then, I'll take advantage of Claire not being around, and go buy some nice looking clothes.

3 hours later, I'm back in the hotel. Clothes, check. Restaurant and food, check. I need to select the best questions and I need to tell Claire of the plans for Friday. I go to my room, hang my clothes in the closet and I pull out the cue cards from the drawer in the nightstand. I spend the next hour selecting the best questions. The ones I've picked will definitely tell me more of Claire, the little things that make up Claire, I hope. I put them safely back on the drawer, grab my wallet and step out into the hallway to go to the vending machine and buy some junk.

I end up buying Doritos, peanut m&m's and a bottle of water. I'm walking by the elevators, to my room, when I see the doors open and I see Claire coming out of them. She looks tired and ready to pass out.

"Hey, babe."

She starts walking towards me. I do the same and she hugs me and rests her head on my chest.

"Hey."

"You okay?"

"No, I'm not. Today was not a good day. Some of the families of the deceased where in HQ today. Zara's family was there. I don't know how I kept it together for so long. Her fiancé wouldn't stop crying, Owen. I've never felt surrounded by such pain before. "

"Come on, let's go to my room. We can talk there." I put my arm around her shoulders and guide her to my room.

Claire falls apart and I don't know what to do. The only thing I can do is listen to her and be there for her to reassure her and tell her that none of this is her fault. I repeat it so much, it feels like a mantra. I only stop when Claire spends the last of her energy and falls asleep on my bed with tears still running down her cheeks.

So much for her having a good day.

 _Sorry this is not the happy, funny chapter you were probably expecting, but last night's news were truly shocking and I guess it reflects in this last part of the chapter. I cannot belief there's still people out there who can be so evil and spread hate and pain in the way this terrorist group did last night in Paris. I know I have French readers, my thoughts are with you and anyone else whose lives have been affected in horrible ways because of this group of people. Stay strong and remember how strong you are! Never give in and never lose hope._


	12. Chapter 12 - Part 1

Chapter 12 – part 1:

I rub my eyes and stretch out. I remember last night. I remember Claire crying. I look down and see her lying on her stomach, her face towards me. Sound asleep. I stand up, careful not to wake her and head to the bathroom. I wash my face and brush my teeth. I decide to go to the ice dispenser down the hall and get some ice, just in case Claire feels her eyes are too swollen.

I close the door quietly and go get some ice. I start thinking of all the things Claire told me last night. How none of the families blamed her for what had happened, which I'm glad because she had nothing to do with them. But having to hear who these people were, putting a story to the names she read in the list with all the dead; it was too much for her. Especially since we haven't really stopped since we left the island. The dam had to burst at some point. I'm just glad she felt comfortable enough to do it with me there.

I fill the small bucket with ice and head back to the room. Claire is still fast asleep. I put the ice bucket on the nightstand and take advantage of the time and go take a shower. When I come out of the bathroom, Claire is starting to wake up. I grab a t-shirt, put it on and lie down next to her. I look at her for a little bit and see how she inhales deeply and scrunches up her eyes. I lean forward and kiss her on the corner of her mouth. She hums and opens her beautiful green eyes.

"Good morning, sleeping beauty. You get a good night sleep?"

She gives me a soft smile and stretches. "Mmh." She moves, so she's now lying on her side, her hands tucked under her cheek. "I'm sorry." Her voice still hoarse from sleep.

I look at her confused. "Sorry for what?"

"For last night. I just couldn't keep in any longer. I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize. There's no need for that. You don't need to apologize for _feeling_ , Claire. Ever. Okay?"

She bites down on her lower lip and smiles. "Okay."

I lean forward to kiss her, but she stops me when her hand shoot out from under her cheek and covers my mouth. "We're not in a movie, Owen. There's a little thing called morning breath."

I laugh. "I don't care." I lean forward again, but I end up kissing the pillow Claire was using. I sit up straight and see her laughing going into the bathroom. How can anyone be this agile this early in the morning? I get up from bed, sit on the couch and turn on the TV. Let's see what's up in NYC this beautiful Thursday morning. I decide on Good Morning America since I've met all of them for the interview Claire and I had with them a couple of weeks ago.

I am entranced watching the story of a dog that helps elderly people, when I hear Claire come out of the bathroom. She sits next to me with her legs bent under her. I'm not looking at her; the dog has my complete attention right now. I feel Claire's hand on my cheek pushing my face gently towards her.

"Good morning." She says and starts kissing me and I forget about the dog. She is kissing the hell out of me! I sit up straighter and put my hand on her lower back to pull her closer to me. Her arms go around my neck and she pulls herself closer to me. The kiss deepens, just when I think things might be going somewhere else, she pulls out of the kiss. We look at each other and smile, both breathing hard. She gives me a peck and sits back down on the couch.

"What was that for?"

"That was a thank you. For last night."

Really? "If you're going to kiss me like that after, then you should cry more often."

She turns her head towards me. "Funny."

She lays her head on my shoulder and we both watch TV. After a while I ask. "Are you feeling better? Are all of those feelings that were bothering you out? Or is there something else you want to talk about?"

She raises her head and sits up, facing me. I turn off the TV, so she knows she has my complete attention.

"In a way, I do feel better. But, I still can't help but feel somewhat guilty. I know the families don't blame me. But, I was in charge of the park. My arrogance played a part in their deaths. If I had listened to you in the control room, then probably a lot more lives would've been saved. I am partly to blame and they just don't know it."

"I don't think so. At the end of the day, it wasn't really your decision. It was Simon Masrani's. You told me, that as soon as the Indominus escaped, Vivian was calling for a park wide alert and Mr. Masrani stopped her. You took your cue from him. Your boss. It's not your fault, Claire."

"Maybe. But, I still feel guilty. I can't help it."

I try to think of something. I understand how she must be feeling. She had a say in it and she feels guilty. It's natural. What can I say or do to help her?

"Maybe we could do something for the families."

"Like what?"

"Well, what if we help them out financially? We could create a foundation with the support of Masrani Global. Obviously, the money in no way replaces their losses, but I think it's a step in the right direction. They'll at least have one less thing to worry about."

She smiles and nods. "I like it. I'll pitch the idea to the heads and see what they think. I hope they accept. "

"Even if they don't, we could do it. I know some people who can help us out."

"Thank you." She leans forward and kisses me again. This time she takes her time with it.

She rests her forehead against mine. "There's something else."

I pull back a little. "What?"

"Other than talking to the families, I was also in a meeting discussing my future in Masrani Global."

"Oh. What they'd say?"

"I was told I was considered a valuable asset in the company and as a thank you for all that I've done for the park, I could choose whichever job there was an opening for in Masrani Global or any of their subsidiaries."

"Claire, that's amazing!" She looks at me for a little too long. "Or not? It's a great opportunity. Who wouldn't love having that choice? What's bothering you?"

She stands up and starts pacing back and forth in front of me, while I remain sat on the couch.

"I'll tell you the reason why I'm torn, but promise me you won't make a big deal out of it. Okay?"

"Okay."

She stops pacing and stands in front of me. "You. I- we just started something here. I don't want to leave and never find out if it could've been something more. But at the same time, we _just_ started this. I cannot ask you to disregard your plans and come wherever with me, that's a huge step! I don't know if we're ready for it. That's why I'm torn."

I look at her, thinking. She doesn't want any big reactions from me. Which is ridiculous, since she just basically told me she wants to see if we have a future together. I mean, this was her window of opportunity. It was the perfect excuse. Masrani Global sends her away, not leaving her a choice, but to break up with me. And yet, the idea never crossed her mind. Which tells me, she _wants_ a future with me.

It takes everything I have to not jump up and down.

I stand up from the couch and walk to the nightstand to grab my cell phone. I scroll down my contacts until I find the number I'm looking for. I press the call bottom.

"Owen, what are you doing?" Claire looks at me very confused.

I don't say anything. The only thing I do is raise my index finger signalling her to give me a minute. She sighs exasperated and sits on the couch facing me with her arms crossed.

"Hello? Yes, good morning. Could you please connect me with human resources, please? Thank you."

"Human resources? Owen, who are you talking to?"

"Patience is a virtue, Claire."

"Jesus."

"Good morning. My name is Owen Grady and you hired me as a Velociraptor trainer and, as I'm sure you know, the park is no longer functioning. So I want to know where do I stand with you guys."

I have actually been delaying this call. Calling InGen wasn't in my top priorities these days. But I need to know where I stand with them, in order to see how I can proceed with Claire.

"Oh, really? Good thing I called, then. Yes. Clause 11.8.4. It was smart of me, wasn't it? Okay, so that makes the contract invalid, then? No, that won't be necessary. Thank you, Sheila for your help. Bye."

I hang up and put the cell phone back on the nightstand.

"Now will you tell me why you called InGen out of nowhere?"

"Well, Claire. I have a master's degree in Wildlife Biology and all that studying taught me one thing. Mother nature is a powerful force. So, if she decided that dinosaurs and humans shouldn't interact, then she must've had her reasons for it. Therefore, when InGen contacted me to train raptors, I agreed to accept the job only if they added a clause to my contract. A clause that specified that if my raptors harmed anyone, my contract would be made null. Unless, of course, it was my fault. And seeing as the guy who hired me was Hoskins and a raptor killed him and it wasn't my fault, because I didn't set them loose, then…"

"You are no longer working for InGen." She finishes for me.

"Exactly. Which means Claire, I can follow you wherever you go. And before you say anything, this is my decision. I'm not going to let something as a job take away our chance."

"Owen. Are you completely sure about this? I don't want you to, one day, look at your life and feel like you didn't have a choice. You're being impulsive again. Please, really think about it."

I walk over to Claire and sit down next to her. "You don't get it do you? You don't want me to make a big deal out of this, but the truth is Claire, I already can't imagine my life without you. A life where you're not in it? It's not conceivable anymore. I know this is a huge step, we just officially begun dating, but there is something here that just feels _right_. I've never felt for anyone, the way I feel about you. I want us to have a shot and if that means following you to the ends of the Earth, then I will. That is, if you let me. So what do you say? Do we take this step or not?"

She shakes her head slightly.

"I've been here before, Owen. I took a leap of faith once and it didn't work. The only thing I was left with, was a broken heart. I don't want to make the same mistake with you. You're... too important to me. I don't want to lose you. 'Cause I can see a future with you too and that _scares_ me."

"I'm scared too. I've never done this before. I've never done this with anyone. I never _wanted_ to do this with anyone. You are different, and you know me. Remember what you told me at the pizzeria? You've yet to see me fail. I promise you, I won't fail with us. I won't fail _you_."

She's crying and I'm on the verge of it too. I never thought that I would find someone like her. I always thought that I would jump from relationship to relationship until the day that I died. Curious what meeting the perfect person for you can do to you. You change in a way that you could've never imagined. It surprises you. But at the same time, when the change comes, it feels right. I don't ever want to go back to the person I was before Claire and I were running through that jungle. I like this version of myself a lot better.

So, when Claire wipes the tears from her eyes and that steely determination I've come to know so well settles on her face, I know.

"For us. Let's give it a shot."

"Yeah?" I ask.

"Yeah." She confirms. That's all I need. I grab her face and kiss her. I pour all that I'm feeling into that kiss. All the happiness, all the elation and most importantly, all the love.

When we break apart, we laugh. She wipes with her thumb the tear from my cheek that managed to escape. I kiss her one more time. "This will work, Claire. We'll make it work."

"I know we will."

And, as it is typical with myself, I destroy the moment with sarcasm.

"I felt like I was in a telenovela. Didn't you? Is this the moment when you tell me you're in love with my evil twin brother?"

"Can't help yourself, can you?" she laughs and shakes her head.

"Nope. Get used to it." I laugh. "So, how about we get some breakfast? Cause a lot just happened here and I haven't even eaten. I need my macros."

"I think for the first time since I've met you, I completely share your desire for food right now."

"See? That's a sign right there! Come on, if I wait any longer I might eat the table."

"Well, you'll have to wait a little longer. You forget I slept in these clothes? I have to go change."

"Man! You better change like the wind, sweetheart."

"Okay, okay. I'll do it fast."

She sticks to her words. She changes into a pair of jeans and a nice sweater and we go down to the dining room to have breakfast.

I don't think I've ever seen Claire eat so much. I mean, it makes sense since last night she didn't eat anything, but still. She's eating as much as I am. Which is impressive. But, I'll be damn if I tell her that. I value my life.

On our way back, I remember something.

"It's Thursday."

"Yeah, it is."

"You know what that means, right?"

"Um. Not really, no."

I push the button to call the elevator.

"It means tomorrow is Friday, which means, you and I have a date tomorrow."

Her eyes widen. "It's already been two weeks?! God, time flies." The door to the elevator open and we step in. "So, where are we going?"

"Well, it's a surprise. But know, we are going to have dinner and it's going to be super fancy. I even bought some nice clothes."

"Really? Okay. Now I have to find something fancy _and_ pretty to wear. At what time will you be knocking on my door, sir?"

"At 8pm on the dot, madame."

"Can't wait."

"Me neither."

We exit the elevator and I walk with Claire to her room.

We get in and decide to spend the day together. At some point after lunch, Claire tells me that she was given a folder with all of the openings Masrani Global has. Claire, ever the organizer, decides to organize everything on pros and cons, salaries, cities, companies, etc. She decides right off the bat, she doesn't want to leave the country. Especially now that she has re-established a bond with her family.

I don't interfere. This is her decision. The only thing I do is put the files in their corresponding column, as she tells me to. At the end of the day, she ends up with 4 jobs she likes and sees herself doing. Before we know it, we're both yawning and ready to go to sleep.

We agree on deciding which job she should pick after our date.

Tomorrow is the day I've been waiting for, for two weeks. Fingers crossed that everything will turn out fine.


	13. Chapter 12 - Part 2

Chapter 12 – part 2:

"Did you think I was going to take advantage of the situation? Of _you_? Who do you think I am?!"

"No. No, Claire. We're flying to New Haven to meet my parents in two days, if I didn't trust you, I wouldn't be taking you. The reason I didn't tell you is because I was scared you were going to look at me differently, like everyone else. I know it sounds stupid, but it has happened too many times before. That's what Isabella was talking about that day on the pizzeria. The mess it was the last time I took a date home."

"I thought you knew me better, Owen."

I will never forget the look of utter disappointment on Claire's face.

 _11 hours earlier_

11am. Well, that's what I call a really good sleep session. It's a good thing; waking up happy. But it's tough knowing it will be short lived. I remember my conversation with Isabella. I have to tell Claire tomorrow. Knowing her, I can't picture her being all rainbows and unicorns about it. But, on the bright sight, there won't be any secrets anymore. I'll be free to be myself. I won't have to go over what I say, being careful not to say anything I shouldn't.

There's nothing left but to leave it to fate, I guess.

Claire had to wake up early today to go to Masrani Global and she insisted that I go to my room, so I could get all the sleep I wanted uninterrupted. #MuchAppreciated

I stretch out my arm and grab my cell. One received message from Claire. She says she's probably going to be at Masrani Global until lunchtime. After, she's going to be busy doing 'things girls do' for our date and that she'll see me at 8pm.

Since I'm going to be alone all day, I decide to stay in. I order breakfast and start watching a movie. I decide on a comedy, to keep things light. Scary Movie 3 seems like a good choice. Man, that Anna Farris is funny!

My breakfast arrives soon after and I keep watching the movie while eating my 8-year-old breakfast, as Claire so eloquently called it. When the movie is over, I check the time and realize Claire must be leaving the office soon, so I send her a text instead of just calling her, just in case she's still in a meeting.

10 minutes later she texts back, and tells me the idea of creating a foundation for the victims and their families was accepted with open arms by the heads, and they will soon start with the legal work to get it up and running as soon as possible. She also tells me that they've given her a month to decide where she wants to be placed.

I reply that that's amazing! A step in the right direction. She sends me a kiss emoticon.

I smile. I decide to watch Scary Movie 4 since I have nothing better to do.

After almost pissing myself more times than I would like to admit, I decide to change and head to the dinning room to get some late lunch. I read the menu and decide to get some gnocchi with white sauce and prosciutto. (It took all of my strength to not lick the plate) I go back to my room and pull out the 15 cue cards I selected from my badge of 75. I re-read them a hundred times, to try and make sure those are the best questions from the badge. Once I'm 100% sure, I put them on my nightstand next to my cell.

Seconds turn into minutes, minutes turn into hours, and before I know it, it's time for me to start getting ready. I take a shower and then, like a punch in the gut, the nerves hit me. I've been talking too much about it, I think. Every time I got a chance I was all: 'It's going to be amazing'. 'It's going to be the best date ever'. If it's not as advertised then it's going to be a huge disappointment for both of us. And I will look like a complete idiot.

 _Breathe_ , Owen. Everything is going to be fine. You've prepared everything. No reason for anything to go wrong.

I step out of the bathroom and walk to the closet to pull out the clothes I bought. I dry my hair with the towel and start getting dressed. This is probably the most money I've ever spent in clothes, but Claire is worth it. I bought some nice beige pants, a white shirt, a navy blue blazer and a pair of dark brown shoes. I look myself in the mirror, comb my hair, put my watch on, pull on my cuffs like James Bond and I'm ready to go.

The cue cards are safely put away in my blazer's inside pocket. I look at my watch. 7:55pm. I look up to look myself in the mirror again.

"Okay, Owen. Don't screw this up. This is your chance to show her how life can be with you." I crack my neck. "Okay. Okay, let's do this."

I walk the few paces it takes me to get to Claire's room trying to remember how to breathe. I look at Claire's door, set my shoulders and knock. A few seconds go by, they feel like hours. When she opens the door my breath catches on my throat.

She looks stunning.

The thing that catches me by surprise though, is how much more… clearly I can see her face. Her hair has been styled in messy waves and she's parted her hair to the side, so her bangs are only covering part of her forehead. Her green eyes look like emeralds. Who ever did her hair and make up should get a medal. They've managed to make her look even more beautiful. And her dress, oh my God! She's wearing a long-sleeved, lace, burgundy dress that hugs her curves amazingly. I don't believe in God, but thank you Jesus.

"Owen, you look…"

"I know."

She huffs but smiles anyway.

I look at her for a minute, really look at her and take her in. I don't think I've ever seen such a beautiful creature before in my life.

I think I was staring longer than I thought, because Claire calls me out on it.

"Owen, you're staring."

I laugh and rub the back of my neck. "Sorry. You just… you look beautiful, Claire."

She blushes and her closed-mouthed smile widens. "Thank you. So, can you now tell me where is it exactly that we're going?"

I stretch out my hand, she takes it and closes her bedroom door. I pull her closer to me. "You'll have to wait a little longer. Come on, let's go eat some food." She gives me a peck on the lips and we walk to the elevator.

We step off the elevator and head towards the door to get a cab, when I hear someone call me.

"Mr Grady?"

I turn around and see a man in a suit and a hat approaching me.

"Yes?"

"Mr Grady, my name is Robert and I was asked by Chef Phillip to take you to the restaurant this evening."

I laugh. Of course he did, he's that kind of a friend. "Thanks, Robert. Lead the way." I look at Claire and whisper to her. "You're getting the fancy treatment tonight. Lucky you."

"Lucky me." I grab her hand and start walking towards the car. Which by the way is a Lincoln MKS. You're making me look damn good, Phil.

Robert is about to open the door, when he looks up. "Oh, Mr Grady. I forgot. Chef Phillip asked me to tell you to be on your best behaviour tonight and to please, not forget, he has a reputation to uphold." I spoke too soon.

"I'm going to kill him. Thank you, Robert." He smiles, nods and opens the door.

Claire gets inside the car through the one side and I go round the car and get in through the other door. Robert rolls up the partition.

"Chef Phillip? Is that your best friend? The one you told me about?"

"Yeah, that's him. He takes embarrassing me as a hobby. You'll meet him later tonight. He's a good dude. One of those people you meet and you know you will never meet anyone quite like him again. You'll see what I mean."

"I'm enjoying myself already."

"There's more to come, babe."

She intertwines her fingers with mine and we watch the passing scenery. I realize we're about three blocks away, so I pull my phone out and turn on the camera. I will always remember this day, but I want to have a tangible memory.

"Claire, smile."

"A selfie, Owen? What are you, twelve?" Her eyebrow twitches, but doesn't go completely up. Which I'm going to take as a sign that she wants to play.

"Come on, Claire. You look hot, I look hot, why not record it for history?"

"Whatever, go ahead."

I raise the phone in front of us, I look at her with the corner of my eye and I start counting backwards from three. At the last minute, I decide to give her a big, loud, kiss on her cheek and take the picture.

"Owen!" She starts laughing. I start laughing with her. "Delete that picture and take another one. I must look horrible in it!"

"Let me be the judge of that. Let's see." I press the home button and press the gallery icon. I press the photo and see it on full screen.

That's officially the happiest I've ever seen Claire. She doesn't look surprised in the photo. Her eyes are closed and she has an open mouth smile.

"Delete it."

"No. I love that photo. Look how happy you look. Look how happy I look. Nope. I'm keeping it. In fact, this is going as a lock screen. "

"Seriously?! Give me your phone. Owen, give your phone! Gimme!"

I start moving my arm around until I have no other option but to stuff it down my pants.

"You're more than welcome to search for my phone there." I smile at her smugly.

A serene expression descends upon her face. "Okay."

My smugly smile drops faster than Jurassic World's shares at Wall Street.

"What?"

That serene expression is still there. "Okay, I'll look for your phone there." Her hand shoots out and grabs my belt and pulls me with it towards her.

"Okay, okay. Don't _ever_ seduce me like that again in a moving car. I've told you before, I'm not strong enough."

"Then don't play games with me like that. Phone." She stretches out her hand.

"I'll give it to you, but please don't erase the photo. I really love it. We can take another one if you want. Please?"

She takes the phone and looks at the photo. A smile appears on her face, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it smile and then she looks at me and pretends to be annoyed.

"Fine, but I'll take the picture this time."

"Fair enough."

She stretches out her arm just like I did a few minutes ago, smiles and starts counting back from three. I guess payback isn't always a bitch. Just like I did, she kisses me, but not on the cheek but on the lips. At some point I see a flash of light and she pulls back. She giggles and looks down at the photo and presses on the photo.

"Now, that's a much more acceptable photo, don't you think?"

Of course for her this is a much more acceptable photo. I'm the one who actually looks very much surprised in this picture. My eyebrows practically disappear into my hairline and my whole body language from the shoulders up is one of a surprised person.

"Okay, okay. Point made. But I still love the other photo and I am still using it as a lock screen."

"Fine. Me too, then." She texts the photo to herself, pulls out her cell and puts it as a lock screen and shows it to me. I do the same.

The car stops and the partition starts rolling down. "Mr Grady. Ms Dearing. We have arrived."

"Awesome! Thank you for the ride, Robert."

"My pleasure, Mr Grady. Enjoy your evening with the lady."

"Thank you, Robert."

I get down from the car and open Claire's door. I stretch out my hand and help her get out of the car.

"Claire, you wanted to know where we were going. Well, welcome to Eleven Madison Park."

Her eyes widen so much I almost start laughing. I was trying to surprise her and apparently I have. Part one of the plan: accomplished.

"Eleven Madison Park? As in the fifth best restaurant in the world?!"

"Yep."

"Phillip. Phillip Bentham? That's your best friend?"

"Yes and he has an amazing dinner for us, so shall we?"

I offer her my arm and she takes it. "You're full of surprises aren't you?"

"Oh, you have no idea."

We walk into the building and get into the elevator that will take us to the restaurant. As soon as we step out of the elevator, we are greeted by a lovely young woman who welcomes us and asks if we have a reservation.

"Yes, we do. Is for Owen Grady."

"Oh, Mr Grady. You'll be glad to hear we have everything ready for you. Please follow me."

We start walking through the tables and I can't help but feel a little smug, because we're going to be eating at a private room and all these suckers are going to have to share their space with complete strangers.

"What's that look on your face?" Claire asks quietly as to not disrupt the atmosphere created by the restaurant.

"You'll see." I smile at her and she smiles back.

We arrive at the private room and the lovely young lady tells us someone will be here shortly to serve us.

"A private room? What else are you planning to surprise me with?"

"Well, on the next part of this date, we are both going to be surprised. Because even though I've read what we're having, I've never actually tasted it."

"Okay, let's be surprised then."

A waiter comes in and introduces himself as Graham, asks us what we're drinking this evening and sets on the table an unusual coloured bread basket and a small dish with grilled butter. How does that work? No freaking clue. He said this green bread was made from coca leaves and eucalyptus.

"Let's try it, I guess." I pick a bread and break off a piece. The smell that comes off of it is amazing.

"Oh my God, this smells so good! And it's so moist. I don't know what that butter has, but it's amazing too! If the bread is this good, I can't even imagine how good the actual food is going to be."

"I knew I made the right choice when I asked Phillip. Man, this is good!"

We eat the whole bread basket faster than I think we would like to admit. Then I remember the cue cards. Part two: commence.

"So, Claire. We agreed a couple of weeks ago that during this date I would get to know you better. Remember?"

"I do."

"So, I've prepared some questions for you this evening."

"Uh, oh. Should I be worried?"

"No. As long as you say the truth." I pull out my phone and press play on the clichéd game show theme song. I stand up from my chair and embrace my game show host persona.

"Ladies and gentleman, welcome to today's show. Tonight our contestant is the lovely, Claire Dearing from Wisconsin. Claire are you ready to play?"

"Owen, sit down. Graham is going to be coming back at any moment."

"That's the magic of fine dinning, Claire. See that button right there? Graham will only come if we press it. So, no need for you to worry. So I ask again, are you ready to play Claire?"

She rolls her eyes a little. "Yes, I'm ready."

"First question. What's your favourite colour?"

"Red."

"Like her hair, a bit on the nose, but okay!"

"Come on!" She's laughing.

"Second question. Who is your favourite singer?"

"It's never been only one. But right now, I'm quite obsessed with Ellie Goulding."

"Yes, she's awesome! Third question. Who's your celebrity crush?"

"Jake Gyllenhaal. When he did Prince of Persia. Jesus."

I pause the music and look at her. "You _do_ see the parallel, right?"

"What parallel?"

I open my eyes wide and signal between us. "Tamina and Dastan didn't like each other at first at all, there was a lot of bantering, a lot of running around for their lives, any ring a bell…?"

I see realization hit her. "Oh! Well, I guess I have a type."

"Well, I guess you do." I press play on the game show music again.

"Fourth question. What's your favourite holiday?"

"Christmas. A lot of people hate snow, I love it. It fits."

"Noted. Fifth and last question before our starter dish. What was the first thing you thought of when you first saw me?"

She blushes a little. "The first thing I thought was… he's kinda hot."

I smile at her and press the button to call Graham. He pops in faster than I thought. "Graham, we're ready for our first dish." He nods and heads back out.

"You having fun?"

"Yes, I am."

"Me too"

Graham brings our first dish ridiculously fast. He explains the dish for us.

"We have octopus with a black olive sauce on a bed of lentils. Oh, I recommend you eat the flowers too. It adds quite the fragrance to it. Enjoy."

"Thank you. This looks so amazing!"

"Let's not wait any longer then. Dig in, babe!"

First I stab a piece of octopus with my fork, then I push some lentils and flowers onto my fork with the help of my knife and into my mouth it goes.

Oh, God. Yes! The taste of olive oil in the lentils is amazing, the black olive sauce combines perfectly with the octopus and the flower just aromatizes the whole thing beautifully.

I look up and see Claire chewing it slowly, just enjoying the whole experience. She looks up and shakes her head. "I've eaten octopus before, but never as good as this. I mean, who even thought of combining lentils with octopus? That takes talent."

"When I see Phillip, I might kiss him."

"Me too."

I look up at her. "I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that."

She smiles and keeps eating. We devour the whole thing in slow motion, if that makes any sense. We only focus on eating. We don't talk other than the occasional sounds of disbelief. We both look up at the same time and laugh.

"I don't think I will ever be able to eat regular food again. What have you done, Owen?"

"I'm asking myself the same question. I guess our only choice is to kidnap Phillip and make him our chef slave."

"Yeah. I'll plan the whole thing."

I press the button and Graham comes in with two other people, who pick up our plates at the same time and leave it as spotless as it was when we first came here.

"Did you enjoy that first dish?"

"It was so good, Graham. I can't even believe we have two more dishes to go."

"We're already planning to kidnap Chef Phillip."

"I'm glad you enjoyed it. I let the kitchen know you're ready for your main course."

"Great."

I watch Graham close the door and I press play on the game show music again.

"Ready for round two, Claire?"

She nods. "Ready."

"I warn you, the more you advance, the harder the questions will get."

"I'm ready."

"Confidence. I like that. Question six. How old were you when you got first kissed?"

"I was 13 and he was super cute."

"Question seven. Is it true that red heads have no soul?"

"Seriously?! Do I even need to answer that?!"

"Well, if you don't I would kinda get my answer, so…"

"Yes, redheads _do_ have souls."

"Question eight. Dogs or cats?"

"Dogs. I hate cats."

"Question nine. Favourite sport"

"Tennis."

"Question ten and the last one before our main course. Ready?"

"Ready."

"Do you sing in the shower?"

"Of course, I do. Who doesn't?"

I press pause and sit back down on my chair. "I don't."

"You don't sing in the shower? Yeah, right."

"I don't. Really. I _rap_ in the shower. Slight difference."

"Pff. Your inner 50 cent comes out when you're in the shower?"

"Actually, my inner Jay Z comes out more often, sometimes Eminem."

Graham comes inside the room, followed again by two people who place our dishes in front of us. I can feel the exact moment I start salivating.

"For our main course, we have a steak from the finest cut on a bed of paper thin mustard leaves, with a red wine reduction and a side of mashed potatoes. Hope you like it as much as your first dish."

We don't even wait for Graham to leave the room this time, we immediately dig in. I mean the steak is so good, I might kill someone just to eat this again. The wine reduction is a piece of art in its own and something as simple as mashed potatoes is heavenly. There's this elasticity to it that just brings the whole thing together.

"Owen, seriously. I might leave you for Phillip."

"I wouldn't blame you. I might leave you for him too."

We say nothing more. Claire and I aren't important right now, the food is. When we are done, we both just look down at our dishes and daydream about eating this perfect piece of cow again. Claire presses the button to call Graham, because I think she feels like me, if someone doesn't take these dishes away from us, we might just lick them and that wouldn't make us look too good.

Graham comes in with his helpers and looks at us both.

"I take it you liked it more than the starter?"

"I don't think we loved it more, but we just experienced a whole new thing here. Can't explain it." I can't. I don't even have the words here.

"Would you like me to send the desserts in 10 minutes?"

"Yes, Graham. That's perfect. Thank you."

He leaves and Claire looks at me. "Are you going to ask me those five questions you have left?"

I raise my phone and press play dramatically. "Now, Claire you've made it to the last part of this game. Are you ready for the more gruelling questions?"

"Yes, I am."

"Question eleven. Growing up, did you ever get in trouble with the law?"

She smiles. "Once. When I was 16, I was caught street racing. A boy told me girls couldn't drive like men could. So I challenged him and I won. But the police were waiting for us at the finish line. Got myself a ride at the back of a police car and three hours in a jail cell. My parents were not happy."

I whistle. " Claire Dearing, the criminal. I like it. Question twelve. Were you ever part of a fraternity?"

"Nope. Too busy studying."

"Question thirteen. Have you ever joined the mile high club?"

"Ew! Owen, that's gross! No, I haven't."

I laugh. "Okay. Question fourteen. What's your favourite place in the world?"

"This is going to sound snobby, but it really is a beautiful, peaceful place. The Swiss Alps."

I pause the music and stand up from my chair. I stretch out my hand, she takes it and stands up. "This is the last question and the most important one I'll ask you tonight. Claire?"

"Yes?"

"Will you go out with me again?"

She looks at me for a moment, her eyes shining. She leans forward and kisses me. My hands go behind her back and I pull her closer. She rests one hand on my cheek and the other on my back. I can feel every inch of her. Her delicate touch on my cheek, the press of her hand on my back, her body against mine and the passion I feel behind her kiss. The only thing we're missing is the sound of violins and it could be a movie kiss. It's perfect.

"Is that a yes?"

She laughs and rolls her eyes. "Yes, it is."

"Love birds, the rock star that is myself and your desserts, are here!"

I shake my head. Of course this is how he introduces himself.

"Claire, this is Phillip Bentham. Phillip this is Claire."

"It's an honour to meet the woman who's made my brother act like an impressionable teenager. Pleasure." He shakes her hand and Claire smiles at him.

"Pleasure is all mine, chef. I have to say this is the best food I've eaten in a very long time. No wander you're fifth in the world."

"Thank you, Claire. I was hoping for the number one spot, but those damn Spanish beat me to it. Now please, sit down and prepare yourselves to have your minds blown." He motions for Graham to put our desserts in front of us and he passes Phillip a bowl with a spoon.

"Now, here we have a chocolate extravaganza. Chocolate bavarois, on it Belgian chocolate leaves and on top of that, chocolate ice cream. On the side, we have rocks made of Peruvian chocolate milk, 'dirt' of 80% chocolate and finally…" he spoons some delicious looking fudge from his bowl and does his chef magic to make it look like an eighth note. "… some Ivory Coast chocolate fudge. Enjoy."

"What are you doing to me, man?"

"I'm showing off, brother. You both have in front of you the best chocolates in the world."

"Phillip?"

"Yes, Claire?"

"I love you."

"I've heard I'm easy to love. I'll leave you to it. It was very nice to meet you, Claire."

"Nice to meet you too, Phillip."

Phillip pats me on the back. "We'll talk later, brother." I look up at him and he points to Claire and gives me a thumbs up. I smile.

"Owen, you have to try this. It's so good!"

I grab my spoon and dig in. You would expect it to be overwhelmingly sweet, but it isn't. I guess that's what good quality chocolate is, tasting the actual cacao, not the disgustingly big amounts of sugar they put in chocolate nowadays.

We finish our desserts feeling like a million bucks.

"That was good."

"I would say that was excellent. Congratulations, Owen. You officially just proved, that you're in fact, a great date planner."

"I told you." I wink at her.

Graham comes in a couple of minutes later with two glasses of water. "Is there anything else I can get you, sir? Ma'am?"

"No thank you, Graham. I am quite full."

"Brings us the check, please."

"Oh, no need for that, sir. Chef Phillip says that tonight's dinner is on the house. He said to consider it as payment for breaking your collection of Star Treck figurines when you were young."

"Well, tell him this dinner doesn't cover it completely. Please thank him and tell him I'll call him tomorrow."

"Of course, sir. Have a good rest of the evening. Ma'am."

"He's a good friend. He truly loves you."

"I know. I guess he _is_ quite easy to love. You wanna head back?"

She nods. She grabs her purse and we head to the elevator. Another couple is leaving at the same time we are, an older couple. I look at the man walking just ahead of us and I recognize him. I hope for everything that I hold dear, that he doesn't recognize me. I step into the elevator and keep my face down. But of course, life hates me. We're almost to the lobby when I raise my head at the same time he does and recognition floods his face.

"Owen? Owen Grady-Vernelli? Son, I haven't seen you since you enlisted in the navy. Do you remember me?"

I avoid looking at Claire, because I can imagine everything just clicking in her head right now.

"Mr Rowbotham. Of course I remember you. Mr Rowbotham, how are you?"

"Owen, dear. I'm wonderful. I saw your mother last week at a charity. She told me you were coming home. She's quite excited about it."

"Owen, who is the young lady accompanying you tonight?"

Oh crap. "Oh, sorry. Claire, this is Robert Rowbotham and his wife Helena. He is the owner of…"

"RBM Tech, of course. Nice to meet you both."

"You've been talking to the lady about us, Owen?" He pats me on the shoulder and laughs a throaty laugh.

"No, he hasn't. I studied you in university, Mr. Rowbotham. Harvard. International Business."

"I always knew you had a good eye for business, Owen. Apparently you also have a good eye for women. Send my regards to your parents when you see them, yes? Come on, dear. Nice to meet you, Claire."

She smiles a tight lip smile, but not the good ones that I have come to love.

"Claire…"

"Grady-Vernelli? Are your parents Benjamin Grady and Emilia Vernelli?"

Shit. This is _not_ how I wanted her to find out about this. I take a deep breath. Too late for me to cushion the truth.

"Yes."

She looks to the side and I can see the muscles of her jaw twitch.

"Yesterday you asked me to trust you and I did. How do you expect me to feel, when you decide to hide this huge part of who you are, Owen?"

"Claire, I'm sorry. I didn't know how to tell you. Being part of my family was a heavy burden on me. I was the rich kid everywhere I went. I wanted people to see me as me. Is not easy being yourself when everyone expects you to be someone else completely. It was hard, and every time I thought I met someone who would like me for who I was, they would treat me differently the moment they found out my last name. I didn't want that to happen with you."

"Did you think I was going to take advantage of the situation? Of _you_? Who do you think I am?!"

"No. No, Claire. We're flying to New Haven to meet my parents in two days, if I didn't trust you, I wouldn't be taking you. The reason I didn't tell you is because I was scared you were going to look at me differently, like everyone else. I know it sounds stupid, but it has happened too many times before. That's what Isabella was talking about that day on the pizzeria. The mess it was the last time I took a date home."

"I thought you knew me better, Owen."

I will never forget the look of utter disappointment on Claire's face.

"Claire, I…"

She raises her hand to stop me. "Don't. Let's just go back. I'm tired."

We get into the car and head back to the hotel. The whole car ride to the hotel is spent in silence. Deafening silence.

When will I catch a break?

AN:

For those of you wondering, the dress I pictured Claire wearing is a Dolce & Gabbana dress Kate Middleton wore.


	14. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

I look at the pictures I took last night with my phone. I replay the moment I told Claire the truth a million times and I ask myself if I could've said it differently. The moment I told her: 'I didn't want you to look at me differently', I think that's were I screwed up.

I didn't mean it that way. I should've chosen my words better. What I meant was, I didn't want her to see me as the poor rich kid. The only thing I managed was for her to see me as a liar, who didn't trust her.

I put my phone on the nightstand and stare up at the ceiling.

Thinking.

As much as I think I should give Claire at least a day to take it all in, I need to talk to her now. We are supposed to be flying to New Haven tomorrow and I need to know if she's still coming with me. I think I know the answer to that question, though. I can't blame her. Last night she found out that her boyfriend belongs to one of the richest families in the country.

Now that I remember, she knew who my parents were.

Of course she knew. Business is her world. There's not a single building in this country that doesn't have GlassTemp windows and there's not a single high society party that doesn't have desserts from Panificio Vernelli.

My father's name is Benjamin Grady. He is the CEO of GlassTemp, the highest producing glass company in the country and sixth in the world. My dad grew up in your everyday, working class American family. Since he was little, he displayed talent for business.

When he was 16 years old, he started working in his dad's garage shop. One day, a man in a XK-E 1961 Jaguar came in. This blew my father away, since only ratty, old cars arrived at my grandfather's shop. This man's car needed an oil change and some air for its wheels. My dad did it, since he was alone that day on the shop. The man paid my father, thanked him and left. Months went by and this man showed up again with another car, this time though, he didn't find my dad, but my grandfather Roger. The man asked for my dad and grandpa Roger called for him. My dad fixed his car and the man introduced himself as Colin Mader. He was the CEO of GlassTemp back in 1975. They soon developed a friendship. They had a grandfather-grandson kind of relationship.

In one of the many conversations they had, Mader asked my father what he aspired to be. My dad answered that he wanted to be a business man, that although he liked being a mechanic and was good at it, he wanted to be something more.

Mader saw something in my father, maybe himself. But soon after he offered him a job as his assistant during the summer. With his parents permission of course. When my father started working for him, he would listen, he would learn and little by little he started to show his true potential. He started working at GlassTemp as a simple assistant and ended up being the CEO.

My mum's story is a little different. She was born into a well off family. Not rich, but they lived pretty comfortable lives. My nonno Luca and nonna Francesca shared a love for baking. They would always make cannoli and tiramisu for themselves and share them with their friends and neighbours. They decided to open a bakery in Brooklyn, which is where they lived right after they got married. They named it, Panificio Vernelli. The bakery started to gain popularity and became well known in the area. A year after, my mother was born and my nonnos made the decision to move to New Haven. Even though they loved Brooklyn, they realised that it wasn't the quiet, completely safe place they wanted my mum to grow up in. So they closed the bakery and moved to New Haven.

Obviously, their love for baking never faded and they reopened the bakery there. It took a little longer than expected to gain a faithful client base and they struggled for a while, but soon they became the beloved bakers from the area.

I know it sounds like the typical family business story, but how is it that Panificio Vernelli became what it is today? Well, it all happened because of an idea nonno Luca had.

There was a 12 year-old boy named George. He worked in the bakery during the summers and on Saturday mornings. One day, his older brother knocked on my nonnos' door and gave them the bad news that George had been ran over by a car and was in bad shape in the hospital. The next day, they went to visit George, but the doctors weren't allowing visitors. They stayed in the hospital talking to George's parents and they told my nonnos how much George loved working at the bakery.

Unfortunately, George fell into a coma for 2 months. He woke up a week before Christmas, his favourite holiday. Knowing that the road of recovery was a long one for him, nonno came up with the idea of baking a huge cake for George and all the other patients on his floor. They baked a gigantic 4-tier cake, decorated with reindeers and a big, fat Santa to top it all.

George, of course, was ecstatic and everyone else in the hospital was feeling much like him. While cutting the cake, a man approached my nonna and introduced himself as Rupert Green. He thanked them both for baking a cake and putting a smile on his daughter's face, who was very much sick and hadn't smiled in a long time. He told them he was a reporter and if they wouldn't mind, he would like to take a picture and write an article on the local newspaper as a thank you to them. They accepted and as soon as that article came out, the bakery started getting a lot of attention. It eventually reached the ears of New Haven's high society and they started getting orders for birthday parties, brunches, weddings, you name it.

They were approached several times by investors, offering the money for expansion and many other business deals. They refused. For them, quality was the number one priority, not quantity. So they decided that Panificio Vernelli's New Haven store was going to be their _only_ store.

If you want to eat Francesca and Luca Vernelli's famous tiramisu, you have to go to New Haven.

When my mum got into university, they already were pretty famous. All along the East Coast, to be more specific. She studied Business Administration in NYU and she was the one who, after graduating, made Panificio Vernelli famous all over the country. She had the idea of selling packaged goods in the bakery, which lead to chain supermarket stores wanting to sell those, which meant that Vernelli goods could be found from Connecticut to Hawaii. Then, that led to my mum convincing my nonnos of making television appearances and recipe book deals. You would think that rich people would lose interest in a business that had become, in a way, mainstream. But, since my nonnos never opened another bakery, if anyone wanted desserts from them, they had to fly them to wherever they were. Which made it even more appealing to rich people.

My parents met in the winter of 1978. Panificio Vernelli was baking a huge cake for GlassTemp. My mother was home from New York for Christmas and she had wanted to go with my nonnos because she wanted to see how what she was learning applied to the business. My father, as Colin Mader's assistant, had been put in charge of making sure everything was where it was supposed to be. So, while my nonnos and their assistants unloaded the food, my mum was sent to ask where they should put everything and that's when they met. My father told me the moment he saw my mum everything slowed down around him. He would always tell me she looked like an angel. Long, blonde hair, blue eyes and beautiful dimples when she smiled.

That night they talked and talked until the party was over. After a couple of months, my mum invited my dad to have dinner at her home. My nonnos admired my dad's ambition and the fact that he wasn't ashamed of his humble beginnings. They raised my mum as someone who should always respect people, no matter the size of their bank accounts. Those are values my parents taught Isabella and I. Two years later, I was born. My parents were 21 years old when they had me. I was an oopsie.

When my mother found out she was pregnant she had already flown back to New York to keep studying, so she broke the news to my dad via telephone. My dad was super excited. Of course back in the 80s, it was still common for women to get married and pregnant young. Well not _that_ young, but still. But what wasn't common, was for women to continue going to university once they got pregnant. My mother was adamant she _would not_ stop studying just because she was pregnant. She wanted her degree. When she voiced these thoughts to her parents, they couldn't have been prouder.

My dad wanted to be with my mum through the whole pregnancy. At the time, my dad was a part time student in a community college and kept working for Colin Mader. He talked to him and told him about me and let him know that he had made the decision to continue with his studies in New York. Mader congratulated him and told him that his hard work from all those years would not go unnoticed. He told him to come back with a degree and to apply for a proper job at GlassTemp when he moved back to New Haven.

So, they moved to a tiny apartment in Manhattan while they both studied arduously. My father took extra credits so he could finish his degree faster and on top of that, he worked. The dude was like superman. By the time my mum hit 8-months pregnant they flew back to New Haven to have me. When I was born, both my mum and dad had only one semester to go before completing their degrees. They decided my dad should get his degree in that moment, that way when my mum went back to university in six months, my dad would already be working. Everything turned out pretty good for them. Obviously.

The issues I have with my family came much later. But I can't think of that right now, it'll make me more depressed.

The issue I have right now, other than Claire probably hating my guts, is that I was drawing my strength from her. Now, I don't know where I'm going to get my strength from. I'm still flying to New Haven. I made a promise to Isabella and I am not breaking it. But, I'm not sure at all if I'll be able to see my parents.

Do I text her or do I knock on her door? She can't hide in her room all day; she knows I want to talk to her. Besides, it's a fight. Our first fight. This is a test on our relationship. At the end, everything will be good again. I hope.

I decide to text her.

*Can we talk? *

*Yes. *

*I'll come to you. *

I stand up from my bed and go to Claire's room. I knock and when she opens the door she looks exhausted. Probably got as much sleep as I did.

None.

"Come in."

I nod and step into the room. I stand awkwardly in the middle of it.

"Claire, I didn't mean what I said last night. I—"

"What? That I was a gold digger?"

"I didn't say that."

"You didn't have to!"

"Dammit, Claire! I didn't mean it like that! I worded it wrong. I didn't mean that you were going to take advantage of me. Of course I know you wouldn't. The reason I wasn't forthcoming about it is because I still have that insecurity about it. Me not telling you has nothing to do with you. It's me who's the problem."

Her face softens and hurt replaces the anger that was in it a minute ago.

"I'm not mad at you because you didn't tell me about your family. I'm mad, hurt really that you didn't trust me."

"I _do_ trust you—"

"You say you do, but last night says differently, Owen."

"I told you, it has nothing to do with you, it's me—"

"Exactly. Which is why I'm not coming to New Haven with you tomorrow. I think you should take this week and really figure out if you _truly_ trust me. I know you say you do, but maybe that's what you want and you're just making yourself believe that you do."

"Is that what you want?"

"Yes. I need time to figure some things out too."

I nod and start walking towards the door. I turn the doorknob and look at Claire.

"I really am sorry."

"Stop apologizing because it doesn't change anything. I'm still going to be here when you come back."

"I know."

I turn to leave but Claire stops me.

"Owen? Don't shut your parents out. Keep your promise to Isabella."

I look at her for a minute, raise the corner of my mouth, nod and leave.

I don't go back to my room. I go to the hotel bar and drink my sorrows away. At some point, I decide that I need a change of scenery and I go to one of those bars that have an open mic. I choose a table at the back of the bar, open a tab and I keep the drinks coming and enjoy the music.

When I've had probably too many drinks, I pay the tab and start walking around beautiful Manhattan. A couple of hours later, I find myself in front of Phillip's apartment. He lives in Central Park West, so he has on his building one of those dudes with the long coat and the hat at the lobby.

"Good afternoon, my good man. Would you let Mr. Bentham know his brother from another mother is here?"

"Sir, it's 1am. Are you okay?"

"1am? Well, time flies when you're drunk. Could you please let Phillip know that Owen is here? Or, you know what? I'll just climb the stairs."

"Sir, I can't let you do that. Mr. Bentham has to give me the okay. And no offense sir, but I don't think you're in the best condition to climb 15 stories worth of stairs."

"Look, ah what's your name?"

I lean forward and read his nametag.

"Look, Kevin. I—"

"It's Derrin, sir."

"Okay, Kevin. I ran away from a dinosaur. Several times. I might be slightly drunk, but I can do stairs."

"Why don't you let me give Mr. Bentham a call?"

"Now wouldn't that save so much time?"

He picks up the intercom and dials Phillip's apartment number. He looks at me while he waits for the call to be answered.

"Mr. Bentham—Yes, sir. I apologize, but I have a man here named Owen looking for you…"

I lean forward and snatch the intercom from Kevin's hands.

"Brother! Let me in you son of a bitch! What? No! Yes, I will wait for you. See, I told you, Kevin. His brother."

I hand him back the intercom and turn around and start admiring the paintings on the wall.

I hear the elevator doors open.

"What the hell, man? It's 1am."

"Well, I was drinking alone and realised that was quite depressing, so I came looking for you so you could drink with me!"

"Jesus, what happened? Come on, brother. Let's go upstairs."

"Ha! See, Kevin. I _am_ his brother."

"Sorry, Derrin. He didn't give you a lap dance, did he?"

"No, Mr. Bentham. He didn't."

"Good."

Phillip half carries me to the elevator. The doors open directly to his apartment and he drops me on the couch.

"Owen, what happened? You don't drink like this."

"Well, Phil. When the heart hurts, you numb it with alcohol."

"What do you mean? Did something happen with Claire?"

I sit up straight and look at him.

"When we were coming out of the restaurant, we ran into Asshole Rowbotham and his witch of a wife."

"Shit. So, he basically ratted you out to Claire?"

"Ding, ding, ding, ding! That's the correct answer! She's not longer coming with me to New Haven today and she basically told me we needed a break."

He sits down next to me and exhales deeply.

"Owen, she hasn't broken up with you. She just needs time to process it. That's it."

"I promised her I wouldn't fail her. She's right. She trusted me and I didn't trust her. She deserves someone better."

"For fuck's sake, don't give that depressing bullshit! You made a mistake by not telling her sooner. So, fix it. Getting drunk and knocking on my door at 1am is not going to fix anything."

"You're a little aggressive this late at night, Phil." I rub my face. "I don't know how. I think she doesn't trust me anymore."

"You'll figure something out, Owen. You always do. Maybe this break is not necessarily a bad thing. How long are you supposed to stay in New Haven?"

"One week."

"Okay, well there you go. A week is more than enough time for you to figure something out."

"What if I don't?"

He hits me in the head. "Moron, I'm trying to be positive here!"

I rub the back of my head. "Sorry. Alcohol does that to me."

"You always fight for the things and people you love. So, you're going to get on that plane later today and you're going to respect Claire's wishes. You got it? Or do you need me to slap you around a bit?"

"No, no. I got it."

We sit in comfortable silence for a little bit. Phil's right. I'm going home later today and I'm going to do what Claire asked me to do.

"Phil?"

"Yes, brother?"

"I'm gonna throw up."

"No! Not in my expensive carpet, motherfucker!"

He manages to get a trashcan in my hands just in time for me to spill my guts out.

"We need to get all that alcohol out of your system. I'm going to get you some water."

"Don't you mean coffee?"

"That's a myth. You get alcohol out off of you by peeing. Which is not going to happen unless you drink water. Plus, keeping you hydrated is going to help reduce the headache you're going to get when you wake up later."

"Yes, sir." I look at him. "Phil? Thanks, man."

"What are brothers for?"

He takes me to the guest bedroom and drops off a 6-pack of water on the nightstand. I take a bottle and down it. As soon as my head hits the pillow, I'm out like a light.

"Wake up. Wake up."

"Shh."

I turn around and put the pillow over my head.

"Don't make me throw water at you."

"Shh."

Why do I even doubt his word at this point? I feel the pillow being yanked from me and a big splash of ice cold water hit my face.

"Ahh! Shit! Did it have to be ice cold?"

"If it would've been lukewarm, then it wouldn't have had the same effect. How are you feeling?"

I sit up and wipe the water from my face.

"A bit of a headache there. But it's not as bad as it could've been, I guess."

"See? Drinking water helps. Here, I brought you some advil."

"Thanks."

I gulp down the pills and look at the time. I try to ignore my lock screen.

"Oh, shit. I have to be in the airport in an hour."

"Hence, the ice cold water. Robert is waiting for you downstairs. He's going to take you to the hotel and then to the airport."

"One day I'm going to truly repay you for everything you do for me."

"If you don't knock on my door again at 1am again, I'll consider that as payment enough."

He walks me to the elevator and I hug him goodbye.

"Mother of…! I know you're kinda tight on time brother, but you gotta take a shower. Else you're going to kill everyone in the plane."

I raise my arm and smell my armpit. Oh. God! Yes, I'll definitely take a shower.

"Thanks again, man."

"Yeah, yeah. Go, before you miss the plane."

I reach the lobby and give Kevin—Derrin a quick apology and exit the building. Robert greets me and takes me to the hotel. I debate on whether I should say something to Claire. I decide not to, things are still too fresh.

Thank God I travel light. I have my bags ready in no time, and I take a quick shower. I go down to the lobby, check out and go to the airport.

I arrive just as the passengers are being called to the gate. I show my boarding pass and get into the plane. At this point, I'm not even going to wish for things to turn out fine. It's backfired on me already. What must happen will happen, I guess.

The flight from Manhattan to New haven is 40 minutes long. Not enough time to settle my nerves. I think of the things I want to achieve during this trip. I want to spend time with my sister, spend time with my nonna and figure out myself. I don't need to figure out my feelings for Claire. I know what they are. I love her. I've known that since that day at the pizzeria.

I think part of figuring out myself, involves my parents. Claire told me not to shut my parents out. Maybe it's time for me to actually listen to what they have to say. Clearing the air with them will take this load I've had on my back for far too many years. I miss them so much. My parents are really good people, they don't deserve what I've done to them. It's time to make things right.

The plane lands not too long after I've made up my mind. I look out the window and sigh.

"Welcome home, Owen."

I stand up and pull out my back from the compartment and start walking down the aisle. I pick up my other bag from the baggage claim and head out. The moment I look out into the crowd of people, I see my sister. A little taller than I remember her, but just as beautiful. She looks like our mother, the only difference is her hair is not as blonde. Hers is a few shades darker.

Her eyes land on me and her whole face immediately lights up. We haven't physically seen each other in 4 years. She runs towards me and launches herself at me, just like when we were kids.

"Owen! Finally you big bag of meat!"

"Isa! I've missed you, sis."

I kiss her on the cheek and let go of her. She looks at me for a second, and then smiles. She starts looking around me and then I remember who she's looking for.

"Where's Claire? I thought she was coming."

"I told her about the family. She didn't take it so well."

"Did you drop the bomb on her aggressively like I told you _not_ to do?"

"No! We ran into Rowbotham—"

"Say no more. I hate that asshole. Come on. Let's go home."

We walk into the parking lot and Isabella pops the trunk of the car open with a button on her key.

"That's you car?"

"Yeah, last year's birthday present. I would've chosen something more classic but I wasn't about to look the gift horse on the mouth. It's a good car."

We get into Isabella's Range Rover Sport and drive home.

"Oh! We haven't told nonna you're here. We are going to have dinner at her house. You feel up to it?"

"Of course! You know I never turn down a chance to see nonna Francesca."

"I thought so. It'll be a good distraction, huh?"

"Yeah."

She turns down the music and looks at me sideways for a moment, then looks at the road again.

"I don't think things are as bad as you think they are, you know?"

"What?"

"With Claire. If she were like the others, she would've been all over you the moment she found out about our family. The fact that she's not here, tells me she's not like that. She hasn't broken up with you either. Right?"

"Right."

"Which means she doesn't think you're not worth fighting for. What were her exact words?"

"That she was hurt I didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth about our family."

"And what was her exact reason for not coming?"

"She said I should take this week to figure out if I truly trust her. She also said she needed to figure some things out herself."

"Of course. It's obvious."

"What's obvious?"

"She wants you to trust her, Owen."

"Yeah, I know. That's what she told me."

"No! This whole week is a trust exercise. Did she say anything else?"

"She said she was still going to be there when I came back and to not break my promise to you. Also, to not push mum and dad away."

"See? She wants you to trust that she's going to be there when you come back. I'm assuming you told her about all the people who used you and threw you away like a dirty napkin?"

"Gee, thanks."

"Did you?"

"Yeah, I did."

"She's not like them. _That's_ what she wants you to understand."

I look at Isabella. It took her all but 5 minutes to deconstruct Claire and she hasn't even met her!

"Stop looking at me like that. It's a theory. I could be wrong."

"Okay, Einstein. What does she have to figure out during this week? I'm the one with the issues here."

She thinks for a minute.

"Okay, let's see. You told me she was a workaholic. She worked on a small island. Does she have family?"

"Yeah, a sister and 2 nephews. That's all I know."

"Does she have a good relationship with them?"

"She just re-established a relationship with them. Again, she was a workaholic, working on an island, not the best recipe for family happiness."

"Maybe she's just trying to figure out why is it that she cares so much. As far as we know, she hasn't been in any relationships in a while. Maybe she's just forgotten what it feels like. To have someone."

Mother of God! Now I'm really glad I came home.

"Are you secretly studying psychology or something?"

"The English love their philosophers. I spent a lot of time reading Plato, Ziegler, Kant and Bentham. It apparently unlocked a new section of my brain."

"Oxford did you good, I see. I guess that could be it, though. It would've never occurred to me that she might not know what she's feeling."

I stay silent, processing everything Isabella just told me. It isn't until I feel the car stop, that I realise we're home.

"Ready?"

I nod. I open the door and grab my bags and walk inside the house.

Everything looks the same except for a few changes here and there. I put my bags down and look at a picture hanging on the wall of the four of us.

"Owen?"

I turn around and come face to face with my mother for the first time in 11 years.


	15. Chapter 14

_There's some Italian in this chapter again. I was going to write that part of the story in Italian but realised it was pointless, as I am assuming the majority of you don't speak Italian. So, one sentence is in Italian, every piece of dialogue that comes after that is in English, but know that for the characters, it's Italian. Enjoy!_

Chapter 14:

She looks older. Not old, but older. She's, what? 56 now? Other than a few lines on her face, she's just as a remember her. I look to the side to try and get some emotional support from Isabella, but she's gone.

Traitor.

"Mum. How are you?"

"Good. A little stressed. I've had some disagreements with our suppliers. But other than that, I'm good."

I nod and stuff my hands in my pockets.

"Where's dad?"

"He went to the supermarket to buy food for lunch. We're having a barbecue. I hope that's okay…"

"Yeah, of course. I haven't eaten barbecue in a long time."

"Good thing we decided to have one then."

I can tell she wants to get closer. She's just not sure if I'll let her. I said I wanted to make things better, but I never said it was going to be easy.

"You look tired. You should get some rest. Lunch will take a while anyway. We had the maids fix your old room."

"Yeah, I think I'll do that. Thanks."

I pick up my bags and start walking towards the stairs. I stop and turn around.

"Mum?"

She turns and looks at me. Hopeful.

"I'm glad I'm home."

A hesitant smile appears on her face.

"I'm glad you're home too, sweetheart."

I climb up the stairs and see Isabella at the top.

"That… was painfully awkward. I mean, you saved it a little bit at the end, but Jesus."

"Well, that's what happens when you don't see your parents for 11 years."

"And whose fault is that?"

"Shut up."

"You shut up."

Isabella follows me to my room. As soon as I open the door, I'm assaulted by all these childhood memories that I haven't thought about in a very long time. I don't know why it is my room that triggers all of these and not the house, but it's nice to remember that while I lived here, I was happy. I throw my bags to the nearest corner and look at Isabella.

"Ready?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

We both take a step back and launch ourselves to my bed. We land and bounce a bit and we laugh hard. Like old times.

We lie there and watch the constellation it took me months to paint on the ceiling when I was 16.

"I thought mum would've repainted the whole room."

"She did. She just gave specific instructions not to touch the ceiling. I told her to paint it. She said no."

"Hey!"

"What? I was 10 and angry you had left."

"Did she say why she wanted it untouched?"

"She told me it took you forever to get it right. She said it was proof of how determined and passionate you were."

I close my eyes. I remember how angry I was when I left. I barely said goodbye. I just packed my bags, announced I was leaving and then I was gone. That was the last time I was in this house.

"It's hold up pretty good."

"Yeah. Well, I'll leave you to rest, bro. I'll come get you when dad is here."

"Okay."

She stands up from the bed and closes the door on her way out. I take advantage of this moment to really let everything sink in. Seeing my mum and Isabella again has made me realise how alone I've been all this time. I isolated myself completely. I pushed my family and friends away.

It really is ridiculous that the closest thing I had were 4 velociraptors, and Barry of course. My only human friend for 2 years. I think of Claire and how I screw that up back in the island. Well, she's not completely guilt free of that one, but still.

I grab my phone and text Claire to let her know I'm home.

*Good. Had a good flight?" *

*Couldn't tell you. My mind was somewhere else. *

She doesn't reply. I put the phone down and go to sleep.

I am brutally awakened by a nightmare. Which is unusual for me. I don't really dream much and when something worries me, I don't sleep. Which is why I don't have nightmares.

It was one of those dreams were you're seeing everything from the outside. I was screaming and punching something. I couldn't really tell. Everything around me was… shiny. I've never acted like that before. It was like seeing a stranger.

The desperation I saw on my face unsettled me. The one thing I did recognize though, is how I was feeling. I've only felt it once, the feeling of being lost and not knowing how to function, not feeling anything but pain. That's how I felt when my nonno died.

I shake myself and go to the bathroom to wash my face. I look at myself in the mirror. I don't know what the hell that was. Maybe it's just my subconscious warning me of how I'll be if I don't fix things with my parents.

Yeah, that must be it.

I hear a knock on the door.

"Hey, lunch is ready. Dad told me not to wake you up. He said there was no point in torturing you with uncooked food."

I laugh a little and start walking out of the room. We climb down the stairs and I prepare myself to see my dad. We walk through the living room and out to the yard. Everything is in fact ready. It smells amazing. My dad's in the grill, cooking what looks like a T-bone.

I slide the screen shut and my dad turns around. His face lights up as much as Isabella's in the airport.

Just like my mother, I can tell he wants to get closer, but he refrains himself from doing so. I get close enough to feel the heat of the barbecue.

"Dad. It's nice to see you."

"It's nice to see you too, son. I hope you're hungry, because I think I bought 2 weeks worth of barbecue."

"I am."

"Good, good. Sit down, guys."

The meal is delicious. Too bad it's awkward as hell! Isabella is the only one starting conversation and keeping it going.

I eat so much food I actually surprise myself. The things we do when we really don't want to talk. When everyone announces we're all properly stuffed, we stand up and walk to the house. The four of us stand awkwardly in the living room.

That seems to be the word of the day. Awkward.

"Well, I'm heading out. See you guys at nonna's?" Isabella says.

We all turn to look at her. If she leaves, awkwardness is going to be the least of my problems.

"Where are you going?" dad asks.

"Remember I told you guys? I was going to Charlotte's to help her dye her hair blue so she could piss off her parents?"

"Cucciola, is that really necessary? Tomorrow her parents are celebrating their wedding anniversary."

"Which is why she's doing it, mum. You know how Charlotte's mum hates her sister-in-law Charlene?"

"Yes. It's a pretty famous feud in our circle."

"Well, Charlotte's dad had given her permission to go visit her in Vienna, so she could help her out with a mural she was doing with this company there. When Charlotte's mum found out, she told her she was not going, because she was planning to celebrate her anniversary and she wanted her there. She celebrates her anniversary with a party every year! Plus, they've hired a film crew. It's going to be hilarious!"

"I thought you said you weren't coming to the party?"

"I wasn't, until Charlotte told me what she was planning to do. There's no way I'm missing that! It's not that bad, I promise. She's using the dye that comes off with water."

We all laugh.

"Okay. I'll call Stefano then, tell him to bring extra hands tomorrow."

"No need. I already called him. I also sent him a picture of my dress so he can think of cool ways to style my hair. Okay. See you guys at dinner."

She hugs me and whispers in my ear, "talk to them". She pulls back, gives me a pointed look and leaves.

I know my sister and I know she planned this. Hell, she probably was the one to pitch Charlotte the idea to dye her hair!

"Um… I'm gonna go brush my teeth."

Really? Couldn't come up with a more pathetic excuse to leave the room? I start walking in the direction of the stairs, when my mum speaks up.

"Stop."

Oh boy, here we go.

I turn around and look at them both.

"Why are you here, Owen?"

Because I want to fix things.

"Isabella asked me to."

"Isabella has been asking you to come home for 11 years. What's different now?"

I've allowed myself to feel how much I miss having you in my life.

"I couldn't really say no anymore. Specially being a short flight away."

"You could've asked her to come to New York. You could've met up with her without us knowing. Why come home?"

Her voice is getting more forceful. She's hurt and she wants answers. They both do. Claire's words flash in my mind's eye. 'Don't push your parents away.'

"Because you're my parents! And believe it or not, I miss you!" There! I said it.

"We miss you too, son. We realised our mistake many years ago. But, it was hard getting a hold of you." he says sadly.

I look down. This whole mess could've been solved years ago, but no. I decided to ran away from my troubles.

"Owen, honey. We're so sorry. We know we put too much pressure on you. We know we tried to make you someone you were not." She comes closer. "And we're specially sorry we didn't listen to you."

"Son, we let others tell us who you should be. I let strangers tell me what was best for you. I will never forgive myself for that."

"Dad-"

"No. We ruined this family with that mistake, but let us try to fix it. Please."

I breathe in and exhale deeply. I remember how hurt I was when my parents told me to choose a career that was appropriate to whom I was. Studying Zoology was going to take me nowhere. I didn't recognise my parents back then. They had never been those people. They had always encouraged Isabella and I to pursue the things we loved.

Isabella always loved business. She would always ask mum and dad to take her to work with them. How she would cry her eyes out when they said no.

I always loved animals. Always trying to heal them whenever I found one that was injured. Spending hours and hours playing with the cats and dogs at the local shelter.

The look of disappointment on their faces when I told them I would study Zoology at Cornell University. That's why I shut down completely. I didn't know who they were anymore and I was scared they would be like that forever. That's the real reason I didn't speak to them for all these years.

"Mum, dad. I forgave you a long time ago. I was just scared to think you had changed for good."

"We realised our mistake as soon as we saw how much we had hurt you, son."

"Owen, just in case it isn't clear, we are so proud of you. Of the person you've grown up to be. I'm glad you didn't listen to us. We love you so much, topolino."

That does it. Hearing my childhood nickname breaks any walls that I had up. I hug my mother. She feels small in my arms. Of course she does. The last time I properly hugged my mother I was 17. I've beefed up since then. I feel her hand cup the back of my head.

"I've missed you so much."

"I've missed you too, mum."

I pull back and see my father. I hug him too. He pats me on the back and laughs. I laugh too. Out of relieve. We can now take the steps to being the family we were.

We stay in the living room and catch up. I tell them everything. From my days in the navy, to training velociraptors. They tell me what they've been up to. They tell me about funny anecdotes, about Isabella's newfound love for music and how surprisingly good she is.

They never mention business.

We spend the afternoon laughing and getting reacquainted with each other. Then they start making fun of me. They tell me they saw all of my interviews.

"I'm really surprised they didn't find out who your family was!" dad says.

"I know! I'm so thankful they didn't. It would've just made everything worse with Claire."

My parents look at each other.

"I thought she was supposed to come. Isabella texted us and told us not to ask about her… Are you two okay?" mum asks.

"I don't know. She found out about you guys and she didn't like the fact that I didn't trust her enough to tell her the truth."

"Give her time, sweetheart. You'll see everything will be fine. Plus, a relationship were everyone is happy all the time is plain boring. There's nothing sweeter than making up with that special someone."

"That's true. Your mother and I fight all the time! And here we are 35 years later happily married."

I smile at them.

"What's the secret then? Fight constantly?"

They shake their heads and laugh.

"To never give up, Owen." dad says.

"And to trust each other. Trust is the foundation of everything. Without it, nothing can grow in that beautiful, sweet way."

I nod. They're right. The moment I go back to Manhattan, I'm going to be an open book. No more trying to hide who I am. Whatever Claire wants to know, she will know.

"Thank you, guys. I'll try my best."

"That's all it takes, son." He looks at his watch. "We should start getting ready. You know how punctual your grandmother is. If we're not there at 7pm sharp, she'll have our heads."

We head to our rooms to get ready. I take a shower, change and go downstairs. My parents come down shortly after and we go to nonna's.

"Owen, can you let your sister know we're on our way?"

"Sure."

I text her and she tells me she's already there and that nonna is still oblivious that I'm coming.

"Whose idea was it to not tell nonna I was coming?" I ask no one in particular.

"Who do you think?" mum answers.

Yeah, I figured as much. Isabella, of course.

I've missed my nonna. She's probably the sweetest person I've ever met. She's strong too. She doesn't take bullshit from anyone. She's also hilarious.

"So, how do you want to do this?" dad asks.

"Let's not make a big deal out of it. I don't want to give the woman a heart attack. She's the only grandparent I have left. I'll just come up behind you."

"Yes. Probably a good idea."

I see come up the house I spent so much time in as a kid. It looks exactly the same. My dad pulls up on the driveway. We get out of the car and ring the bell. Isabella opens the door. Mum and dad walk in first and I after them. She closes the door and grabs my hand.

She whispers. "Did you talk to them?"

"Yes, I did. It's all good. We're good, Isa."

She squeals and hugs me. "Ready to give nonna the surprise of her life?"

"Super ready."

We start walking towards the dinning room. "Nonna, spero che avete tribo per un altro!"

"What do you mean-"

"Ciao, nonna."

She screams a very ladylike scream. "Owen, amore! What are you doing here?! I've missed you so much! Come here!"

I hug her. I have to bend down. I had forgotten how small my nonna is. "I've missed you too."

She lays a hand on my cheek. "Look at you. You look so much like your nonno. Scruff and everything." She kisses me on the cheek. "Come, sit. I've made lasagna. Roberta! Bring an extra set of plates for my grandson. You were in the news. You could've called…."

"I know, I know. Isabella already yelled at me…"

"Yeah, I did."

"I'm sorry, nonna. But I'm here now."

Roberta comes out of the kitchen and sets my place for me. I look up at her. "Thank you." She nods and goes back to the kitchen.

"You have to come see me more often, amore. I'm 88 years old, my days in this world are counted."

"Come on! You still have many more years on this Earth. What 88 year old woman works the way you do, huh?"

"If I don't work the way I do, then I'll go pazza."

Roberta comes out of the kitchen again, this time with a steaming pan of lasagna. She places it on the centre of the table, asks us if we need anything else and then leaves.

"Let's eat!"

Boy, we do! I really hope my stomach doesn't explode. We talk more. Once you get nonna talking, there's no stopping her. Especially when it concerns the ones she loves.

Almost 4 hours later, we say our goodbyes and nonna makes me promise to come and visit her as much as I can during my one week stay. We go home and turn in for the night. I go to sleep feeling lighter than I have in a long, long time.

 _I hope you liked it! Next chapter is going to be from Claire's perspective. Hopefully I'll do her justice! Until next Saturday!_


	16. Chapter 15

Chapter 15:

"Owen? Don't shut your parents out. Keep your promise to Isabella."

He gives me a half smile, nods and closes the door behind him. I close my eyes and exhale deeply. What are you doing, Claire? Getting yourself invested again. What are you doing?

I sit on my bed, hands on my face. "Don't cry. Don't cry." I stand up and start walking the length of the room. Is this supposed to be a sign? Two days ago Owen and I took a big step in our relationship and we're already fighting? How am I supposed to feel about that?

Maybe I was right. It was too fast. We obviously don't know each other that well. I haven't even told him about my parents.

It hurts. We haven't even been dating a month and not knowing what may become of us scares me. I don't know how to feel about _feeling_ this much! Could I actually be… No. No! I'm just starting to get to know him. It's impossible! _But you already told him you see a future with him, which means…_

What the hell is going on?!

No. I can't do this right now. I go to the walking closet and change clothes. Maybe running in Central Park will keep my mind off of Owen. I tie my shoelaces, grab my iPod and walk out of the room.

It's not a terribly sunny day, which coordinates with my mood, I suppose. Getting from the hotel to Central Park is not a short walk by any means, so when I start jogging I can immediately tell it won't be a long jog.

I press play and try to get lost in the music and the scenery. It starts working. I focus in jogging, in not crushing into people. My mind is kept busy for a while, but not long enough. I set my music in shuffle, so when 'Love the Way You Lie' by Eminem comes on, it's like I ran into a glass door. Didn't see it coming.

I start running now. I try to escape from my own thoughts and feelings. I feel the burn in my legs, the burn in my lungs begging me for a proper amount of oxygen. But I keep running. Maybe the pain will distract me a little longer.

I don't last long, though.

I stop and bent over, hands on my knees. I breathe loudly, trying to regain my breath.

"You had to tell me you rap to Eminem in the shower, Owen."

I stand up straight and look around. I ran all the way to the Jackie O Reservoir. I start walking back to the hotel.

I take my earbuds off.

I get to the hotel an hour and a half later. I go to my room and start running the water for my bath. I'm relaxing today, might as well do it with a warm bath. My legs are killing me. The hot water relaxes my muscles. I close my eyes.

What are you doing to me, Owen? I had a perfectly good life in Costa Rica and you had to swoop in.

"Who are you kidding, Claire? You did not have a good life. At all! Admit that at least."

When the water turns cold, I step off the tub and put my pajamas on. It's almost 5pm, I'm not going out. Screw it.

I look at my desk and see the 4 folders containing the options for my potential next job. I grab them and sit on my bed. Maybe going through them will help me keep my mind off of things. Just forget the fact Owen was the one helping you with this.

The four folders offer the same position I had in Jurassic World: Senior Assets Manager. I have to choose the company I'll work for.

The first folder offers me a position in a company called 'Heniq Security' in Chicago. They sell security devices to big corporations. Malls, office buildings, etc. The second folder is for Roche. A pharmaceutical company in Philadelphia. The third is for a petroleum company called 'PetroTal' in Arizona. The final folder is for a cell phone company called 'Telo' in Orlando.

I like the fourth option. The problem with it is that my position in a telecommunications company will involve a lot of travelling. I don't know if I like that.

I feel completely indifferent with folder number 3. I wouldn't mind Arizona, but the fact that I don't feel any type of excitement towards working there is probably not a good sign.

The second folder is pretty attractive. Philadelphia is a beautiful city and I will have my snowy Christmases, just like I love them. That's something I won't have in Orlando or Arizona. But, choosing to work in the pharmaceutical world is not a decision that should be taken lightly. I've heard it's a monster. But working with monsters is not new to me.

Finally, we have folder number 1, Heniq Security. There's no safer place than working in a security company, right? Chicago is also a beautiful city. I can see myself working there. Disadvantages? People seem to feel very unprotected nowadays. What if something fails with the products I am selling? Will I find myself in the same position I was on Wednesday? Talking to the families that were affected because of a security breach? I think this one might hit too close to home.

I stand up and grab my phone from the desk. There are no more distractions right now. I need to talk to someone. I need to vent. I obviously can't talk to Owen. I can't talk to him about him!

Karen.

It's Saturday night, maybe she's home. I text her and ask her what she's doing.

*Girls' night out. Scott's weekend with the kids. *

*Oh. Good for you! Are you free tomorrow? I need someone to talk to. *

*I have a few errands to run in the morning, after lunch sound good? *

*Sounds great. I'll call you on Skype. Have fun! *

*I will! Talk to you tomorrow. *

Torture it is for me this night, then!

I think of my mum. How she always knew exactly what to say to make me feel better. She would put into words what I was feeling and help me work through it. It is moments like these that make me miss my mother so much. I haven't thought about her in a long time. I realised that when Karen told me what mum used to say. 'A promise tomorrow is worth a lot less than trying today.' Yes. I miss her.

I watch TV waiting for the moment my eyes will begin to droop. Doesn't take as long as I thought it would. That run really took a lot out of me.

I turn off the TV and hope for a better day tomorrow.

"Son of a bitch! Ow!"

Being woken up by a cramp is the most horrible way to be woken up!

God! The pain is horrible! It's probably the worst physical pain I've ever been in. It's painfully long, I can feel my muscles contracting and I have no control over my leg right now.

It passes after what feels like 20 years. I stretch out my leg and wiggle my toes.

Yeah, what a beautiful way to start my day.

I stretch out my hand and reach for my phone. 8:15am. I stay in bed and see if I can fall back to sleep. I have at least another 5 hours before I can talk to Karen and I am _not_ spending all that time thinking about Owen. I'll go crazy. Probably jump off the window.

I start moving around, trying to find a comfortable position like a _damn_ dog. Maybe going foetal will help… I tuck my legs in.

"Goddammit!" My leg gets possessed by another cramp. After it passes, I give up on sleep.

"Fine! Screw it." I get up and try putting some weight on my leg. I feel a little twitch, but nothing happens. I sit on the floor and stretch a bit to try and prevent another cramp.

I go down to the dinning room and get some breakfast. I ask the universe to please not let my leg cramp up in the middle of a room full of people.

I inhale my breakfast, just in case.

When I go back to my room, housekeeping has already cleaned it up. I sit on the couch and watch some TV. I watch Forrest Gump from beginning to end. I welcome the distraction.

After the movie is over, I look at my phone and see is almost lunchtime. I saw a blackboard in the entrance of the dinning room saying they were offering pizza delivery today. I decide to call room service and get some. I get it 15 minutes later and sit on the couch again. I bite into it and feel very underwhelmed by it.

"I've had better." I finish eating it anyway.

When I'm closing the box it dawns on me. "God. GV pizza, of course! Grady-Vernelli. Seriously Claire, how did you even miss that? The grandfather in the navy, the Italian grandmother who bakes. It was all there!"

My phone vibrates.

*I'm home. *

Do I text him back or ignore him?

*Good. Had a good flight? *

*Couldn't tell you. My mind was somewhere else. *

Come on! How am I suppose to answer that?! I don't reply. I feel my phone vibrate again. It's Karen.

*Calling you now. *

*Okay. *

I sit on the desk, open my laptop and wait for her call. Her face appears on my screen and I answer.

"Hey."

"Hi, Claire. You okay?"

"I, uh, got into a fight with Owen."

"Oh, I'm sorry. What happened?"

"You're not going to believe this." I take a deep breath. "Owen is the son of Benjamin Grady and Emilia Vernelli."

Her eyes widen. "Oh my God."

"I know! I-"

"I have to apologize to Gray."

I look confused at her. "What? What does Gray have to do with anything?"

"Gray researches anyone and anything he finds minimally interesting. He obviously googled Owen and he told me he had found 'links' to the Grady-Vernelli family. I told him it was just a coincidence and ignored him. I guess he was right."

I raise my hands in disbelief. "Unbelievable! An 11 year old made the connection between Owen and his family faster than I did!"

She shakes her head. "Ah, don't feel too bad. That kid finds things nobody else can. Okay, so? What happened?"

"Well, at first I was pissed that he didn't tell me. Then, that anger morphed into hurt. It really hurt me that he didn't trust me. So, I told him I was not going to New Haven with him today. So here I am."

She's looking at me confused. "Let me get this straight. You say you're not mad at him, but you tell him to go home alone? That sounds like punishment to me, Claire."

"It's not a punishment. I just… I was hurt he didn't tell me about his family!" I thought she was supposed to be on my side!

She puckers up her lips. "Okay. So you're mad, sorry. Hurt. Because you were an open book and he wasn't? Hmm, tell me Claire, how did he react when you told him you were engaged 3 years ago?"

I freeze. This was probably not a good idea.

I look at her and then down at my hands. "I haven't told him about Patrick yet."

Karen taps her ear with her forefinger. "I'm sorry. What's that?"

I roll my eyes. "I haven't told him I was engaged, okay?!"

She looks at me smugly. "You know, as my little sister, I haven't really had the chance to say this to you because the opportunity never presented itself. But that opportunity is here now. You are being an idiot!"

"Karen!"

"What? That's the truth! You are pushing him away! You are being such a hypocrite! Oh my God! You, Claire Dearing, are sabotaging your relationship with Owen!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes, you are! What you are thinking is: I'm going to destroy this, before he does!"

I get defensive. "I know Owen is not Patrick! He would _never_ cheat on me a month before our wedding. He's not that person, I know that!"

Her voice softens. "Then what the hell are you doing, Claire?"

I bark out a laugh. "I have been asking myself the same question."

A moment passes.

"Claire, I know you have feelings for him. I mean, you sent me 500 photos of dresses and a 1000 photos of different hairstyles for your date with him. You never cared that much about impressing Patrick."

"I'm scared, Karen. I don't know what I'm feeling." I feel a knot on my throat.

"I think you do know what you're feeling and _that's_ what's scaring you."

I shake my head and close my eyes. "Yeah, I think I do."

"Then what are you doing in New York, Claire? Go to New Haven and talk to him. Tell him everything you just told me. And tell him about Patrick for God's sake!"

I laugh and nod. "What if-"

"Stop with the 'what ifs'. I saw how he looked at you in Costa Rica. He may be taken aback by the fact that you were engaged, but his feelings for you won't change."

"I hope so. I think you're right, though." I nod determined. "I'll catch a flight to New Haven tomorrow."

"Now that's my smart little sister. Are you going to tell him you're going? Or are you going to create a big movie moment and knock on his door?"

"Ha. No. I'll fly to New Haven, go to a hotel and then call and tell him I want to talk to him and to meet me there."

"Yeah. I guess that'll work too." She looks at me. "I'm glad we did this. Like the old days, you know?"

"Yeah. I'm glad we did this too. Sorry it took so long."

"It's okay. Well, anything else I can assist you with, Claire?"

"Nope. That's all. I just needed you to knock some sense into me."

"Call me when you're in the airport, okay? Just in case you get cold feet. I'll knock some sense into you again."

I laugh. "Okay, Kar. I love you. Send Zach and Gray my love too."

"I will. Love you too. Bye."

"Bye."

I close my laptop and sit there for a minute.

Yes. This feels like the right move. Karen's right. I do know how I feel about Owen. It's scary, but I won't let fear ruin what we've created in this short period of time.

Maybe my mind is suddenly less foggy with worry and confusion, but for some strange reason, I know which job I want. Where I see myself with Owen.

I smile. I should talk to Karen more often. I certainly feel enlightened.

I open my laptop again and make the changes to my plane ticket so I can fly to New Haven tomorrow. I also book a room in a hotel in downtown New Haven. I stay on my laptop writing the email I'll send to HQ to tell them that I've made a decision about which job I want.

I go over it a thousand times, until I'm happy with it. I save it and turn off my laptop. I go to sleep.

I wake up the next day feeling anxious, nervous, but resolved. I'm going to fix things. Hopefully Owen isn't too mad at me when I tell him about Patrick. Of course I'm not expecting him to be all sunshine and rainbows about it, but hopefully he forgives me; mainly my hypocrisy.

I check out of the hotel and go to the airport. Once I check in my bags, I go to the waiting lounge and call Karen.

"You haven't bailed, have you?"

"Good morning to you too, Karen."

"I assume you're in the airport?"

"Yes, I am. I board in 20 minutes."

"Good. Call me at night to see how things turned out, okay? I have to go. I have a meeting."

"Okay, I will. Bye."

"Bye. Good luck!"

My hands start sweating 5 minutes before I board the plane. Calm down, Claire! Think of it as a business presentation. Present your points, back them up and wait for his response. Then, brace yourself. 'Cause I have no idea how he's going to react!

People start boarding the plane and I stand up. There's no turning back now.

The plane takes off.

I spent the whole flight going over what I'm going to say to Owen. I don't want to sound too desperate; but I am. I don't want to look like I will fall apart if he decides I'm not worth the trouble; but I do. There's no easy way to say what I have to say.

The plane lands and I text Karen to let her know. I pick up my bags and walk out of the airport to grab a cab. I tell the taxi driver the name of the hotel I'm staying at and he starts driving. I keep bouncing my right leg.

Calm down! You're working yourself up!

We come to a red light. I look out the window and up to the sky. I see grey clouds coming closer and closer.

That's not ominent at all, I think.

The light changes to green and the car starts moving. I look out the window again.

Everything slows down around me.

This time I don't see grey clouds. I see a car coming directly towards me.

Nothing is ever easy, is it?

That's the last thing I remember thinking before everything goes dark.

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

"Good morning, Isa. Where are mum and dad?"

"Hey. Dad had a meeting and mum had to sign some papers. They said they would only work until noon. They want to spend as much time home as possible."

I sit down and pour some orange juice in my glass. "Cool. I was thinking maybe we could go catch a movie."

"Sounds good. There are some cool movies out this week."

One of the maids comes out of the kitchen and places a dish with a couple of pancakes in front of Isabella. "Thanks, T. Oh, Owen. This is Teresa. She started working for us about 3 months ago. She is an amazing guitar player! She taught me some tricks."

I look at her and smile. "Nice to meet you, Teresa. You gotta show me your skills with the guitar. Maybe you guys can have a guitar off!"

"No way! She'll kick my butt! I'm serious, she's some kind of prodigy."

Teresa laughs. "I think you're overestimating my skills, Ms. Isabella."

"No, I'm not! And I told you to call me Isabella, just Isabella."

"Sorry, Ms.- Isabella. Habits." She looks at me. "Is nice to meet you too, Mr. Owen. Is there anything I can get you?"

"Please, call me Prince Owen. I'll have some scramble eggs, please."

They laugh and Teresa plays along.

"Coming right up, Prince Owen." She bows and goes back to the kitchen.

I laugh. "She's funny. I like her."

"Yeah, she's cool. She has the cutest daughter. Last week she asked mum if she could bring her because she couldn't find anyone to babysit her. That kid is seriously the happiest 3 year-old I've ever met. She had a permanent smile plastered on her face. I played with her all day long."

"Aww. Kids are the best, man. Their happiness is contagious." I grab some bread and butter. "Hey, speaking of guitar playing, mum and dad told me you're into music now."

She pours maple syrup onto her pancakes. "Yeah, is not really something new to me. I've always loved music, I just didn't outwardly say anything."

"Why not?" I break a piece of bread and butter it.

"Because of what mum and dad told you when you told them about studying Zoology. I was 6 and I freaked out. So, I kind of hid it from them. They caught me singing one day and they told me I could be whatever I wanted. That they had made a mistake by telling you not to do the thing you loved."

"So why study business then?"

"Because I love it too. Actually, I've made a decision regarding that. I haven't told mum and dad yet." She drinks some orange juice.

"What?"

"I've decided to study music as a minor. I love business and I love music, why not combine the two of them? I would love to work in the music industry. I mean, I don't need to study music to work in the music industry, but I want to understand the artists, you know? Their creative process and everything. And, to be fair to them."

"That's amazing, Isa! Always so smart. I get the 'be fair to them' part. Not too long ago, I saw on Netflix the 30 Seconds to Mars documentary called 'Artifact'. Man those corporates can be real assholes!"

"I know, right? I saw that too! I gotta admit, I decided to see that because of Jared Leto and his beautiful face and voice, but seeing the whole thing really showed me the ugly side of music. I want to try and make things a little better."

"Oh, wait a second. You sing, too? I thought you were just into the playing instruments part."

"Yeah, I sing too. I love playing instruments. I know how to play the piano and I'm in the process of learning how to play the guitar."

"You really are putting your summer to good use, aren't you?"

"When you love something…"

"Now you have to sing me a song."

"No, I don't."

"Oh, yes you do. Come on."

Teresa comes out with a beautiful looking dish of scramble eggs and places it in front of me. "Teresa, have you heard Isabella sing?"

"Yes, I have. She's really good. She has a very versatile voice."

"Come on! I'm your brother! How can I be the only person in this house to not have heard you sing?!"

"God, calm down! Fine, I'll sing something later. Now shut up and eat your food." She laughs.

We talk about her musical preferences, we discuss about bands and the crap there's on the radio nowadays. My cell phone rings. "Hello? Oh, hey Karen. Wh- Wow, wow, wow. Slow down. What's going on?" I listen to her and I hope to God this is a joke, a nightmare, anything!

"Where is she?"

"She's in New Haven, Owen. She's in Yale-New Haven Hospital. Please go! I'll catch the first flight out there!" She hangs up and the moment she does, everything hits me.

I stand up and start running to the door.

"Wow, Owen! What's going on?! Stop!"

"I can't! Claire was in a car crash! She's here in New Haven. I have to go! Now!"

"Oh my God. I'll go with you! Teresa when my parents get here tell them to call me!" I'm already out the door and getting on the car.

Please be okay. Please be okay. Please be okay.


	17. Chapter 16

Chapter 16:

I run through the parking lot, Isabella right behind me. I burst through the ER doors and stop at the front desk, where a young man sits.

"Please, I need to know about a car crash victim. Her name is Claire Dearing."

"Let me check the system, please."

He starts typing on the keyboard. "Yes. She was brought here about 40 minutes ago. What's your relationship to the patient?"

"I'm her boyfriend."

He looks up at me. "Oh. I'm sorry, sir. The hospital can only give updates to direct family members, unless otherwise stated."

Are you _fucking_ kidding me?! "I am her boyfriend! Her sister is just getting on a plane! Am I supposed to wait _hours_ before somebody tells me anything about my girlfriend?!"

I am seeing red right now! I swear to God if somebody doesn't tell me anything, I'll…

"It's okay, Greg. I'll take it from here." A woman pads him on the shoulder. He stands up and leaves. "What's your name, sir?"

"Owen Grady. Please, I just want to know how she is." I say a little more defeated.

She nods. "I just hung up the phone with Ms. Dearing's sister, Karen. She has authorized the hospital to give you updates on her health. I already let Dr. Fukunaga know you're here. He'll come out shortly."

I sigh. "Thank you. Thank you."

She nods again. "Dr. Fukunaga was there when it happened. Just a few cars behind the taxi she was in. He was the one to pull her out of the car before it caught fire."

I put my hands behind my head and exhale shakily. "Oh my God. Um, the driver, did he make it out?"

"Yes. He was luckier. He already went home."

I can't help but feel like it should've been the other way around. It just makes me feel worse to think like that.

I feel Isabella grab my hand. "Everything is going to be okay, Owen."

I nod. Everything _has_ to be okay. If something happens to Claire, I don't know what I'll do.

I see a doctor in scrubs approaching us. "Claire Dearing's family?"

"Yes. How is she?"

The doctor looks sombre. "Her condition is critical. She's still in surgery. Unfortunately, the car was hit on the passenger's side, where she was sat. She fractured two of her ribs. The impact was strong enough for her broken ribs to puncture her right lung. She has a broken right arm, she dislocated her pelvis, which I put back in place in the scene and she has a third degree burn in her left arm."

This is not happening. "I-I was told you pulled her out of the car before it caught fire?"

"Yes. But as I was pulling her out, I didn't realise that her arm was soaked in gasoline. When the car caught fire so did part of her arm. I suffocated the fire as fast as I could, but she burnt the outer part of her left arm. From the wrist to half her forearm."

I nod. That's the only thing I can do. I am beyond words at this point. Isabella seems to notice.

"Thank you, doctor. For helping her."

"Of course. I'm going to head back to surgery. If you have any questions just have someone call me."

"Okay. Thanks again, Dr. Fukunaga."

He nods and leaves.

"Owen?"

"Why do these things keep happening to us?"

She looks at me sadly. "I don't know. But what I do know is that you both always manage to get out of difficult situations. I'm sure this is another situation where she'll pull through."

I say nothing. We sit in the ER waiting room, waiting for Dr. Fukunaga to come out and tell us how the surgery went.

The waiting room is empty. The only noise is coming from the TV. I don't know if it makes me feel better or worse. About half an hour later, Isabella tells me she's going to go buy some water. She asks me if I want a bottle and I shake my head no. I watch her leave and before she rounds the corner, I see her put her cell phone to her ear. Must be mum or dad.

I see two policemen walk in the ER and stop at the front desk. They ask about someone and the same nurse who talked to Isabella and I, points them somewhere. They thank her and walk the way she told them to.

I'm left alone again, to my own thoughts. Not too long after, I hear someone talking fast and desperately.

"I'm sorry! I'm so sorry! Are they okay? She was bleeding so much and breathing funny. I didn't mean to do that! Please!"

"Stop talking! She is in surgery right now! You _stink_ of alcohol. Your irresponsibility just put someone's life on the line!"

I stand up and start walking in the direction of the voices. I see a man, with a bloody t-shirt and stitches on his forehead, being handcuffed by the two policemen I saw a moment ago. They half drag him through the corridor.

When they walk past me, I ask.

"Were you the one who hit the taxi?"

The man turns his neck and the policemen stop walking. "I didn't mean to do that! I got distracted." He's _slurring_ his words.

Everything around me grows silent. I don't even realise I'm moving forward until my fist connects with his jaw.

The man falls face first. The policemen, surprised, lose his grip on him. I'm on top of him punching him in the same place over and over.

I hear Isabella screaming my name. I feel the two policemen gripping me by both arms and pulling me off of him.

I get a sense of déjà vu.

"You son of a bitch! If something happens to her, I'll kill you! I promise you I will kill you!"

I don't think I've ever heard so much hate in my own voice before. But I mean every single word I say to him.

"Owen! Stop!" Isabella says.

Nurses rush to the man. He is screaming in pain; probably fear also. He knows his about to spend a long time in jail for what he did to Claire.

The left side of his face is already starting to bruise and swell up. I know I broke his jaw. I felt it break.

"What the hell are you doing?!" Isabella asks.

"He was the one who caused the car crash! I hope you rot in jail, you worthless piece of shit!"

"Sir, I'm going to ask you to please calm down! Don't make me arrest you."

Isabella moves and stands in front of me. "Calm. Down. You're not helping anyone right now, Owen. If you get yourself arrested, you won't be anywhere near Claire. He's going to pay for what he did. You should focus your energy on Claire, _not_ him."

I look at her. She's right. I just had to _do_ something; _blame_ someone.

Waiting for someone to tell me Claire's fate is driving me crazy.

I nod.

The policeman on my left grabs my shoulder. "Okay?"

I nod again. He releases his hold on me and escorts the son of a bitch back to a room.

The second policeman lets go of me and looks at my right hand. "You should get that looked at."

"I'll take care of it." The nurse says.

The policeman nods at her and follows the others.

Isabella leads me to one of the chairs and we sit. "Mum called. She said she was going to send the chauffeur to pick up Karen from the airport and bring her here. Dad was picking mum up and then they were coming."

I say nothing.

A drunk driver. We managed to survive being chased by a dinosaur, but a drunk driver is what sends her to the hospital? What level of _fucked up_ is that?

The nurse approaches me with a tray of supplies. "May I?"

I nod at her.

She sits to my right and places the tray on the chair next to her. She picks up my right hand and looks at it for a minute. She starts dubbing the cuts I have on my knuckles with alcohol.

I jump a little at the sharp pain.

"Sorry." she says.

"It's okay." I say. I think of how dubbing some alcohol in small cuts on my knuckles hurts. How much pain is Claire under right now?

"Dr. Fukunaga is an excellent doctor. Claire is in good hands, Mr. Grady."

I nod. "How often does this happen?"

"People being punched or accidents caused by drunk drivers?"

I smile a little. "Both, I guess."

"Quite often, unfortunately. People don't seem to learn or understand how valuable life is. The worst thing a person can lose is their life. People, like the man you punched, are so lost they don't even realise they're jeopardizing the one thing you can never get back if you lose it."

She puts gauze on my knuckles and starts wrapping them up.

"Have they made it? The victims?"

"Some have. Some haven't. Even if I had the statistics, it wouldn't help you. Each and every case is different." She looks up. "Do you believe in God?"

"No."

"Then I guess telling you to pray won't help."

I shake my head no.

"Well, let me ask you this. Do you believe in her? Do you _trust_ her?"

I raise my head at that and look at her. There's that word again: trust.

"Yes, I do. More than I believe or trust myself."

"Then trust her. Trust that she's going to fight for her life. Don't doubt that." She puts some tape on the gauze. "All done."

She picks up her tray and starts walking back to her desk.

"Hey."

She stops and turns. "Yes?"

"What's your name?"

"Yolanda."

"Thank you, Yolanda."

"You're very welcome."

I lean forward and put my hands on my forehead. I feel Isabella's hand start to rub my back. She doesn't say anything.

I remember my dream. That's why I got a sense of déjà vu. I guess I wasn't punching something, but someone.

I don't even try to attempt to understand how is it that I had that dream. It doesn't make sense. Whatever. I don't care right now.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Grady?", Yolanda says.

I raise my head. "Yes?"

"I think you should see this." She nods to the TV.

I stand up and walk to her desk to see what she's talking about. Isabella follows me.

"In today's news, a car crash caused by a drunk driver was registered this morning. It has now been confirmed by witnesses at the scene, that the victim is Claire Dearing, Jurassic World's Senior Operations Manager. You may remember her as the 'High-heeled badass', as the people named her."

"We have been told she is in Yale-New Haven Hospital. Her condition is still unknown. Our thoughts are with her and her friends and family, wishing her a speedy recovery. More on this later today."

Yolanda turns the TV off.

"You've got to be kidding me." The last thing I _need_ is for everyone's eyes to be on us right now!

"We'll figure it out, Owen. You don't have to worry about that, okay?" Isabella says.

"Owen?"

I turn around and see my mum and dad coming through the door. I walk towards them and hug my mum.

"I'm so sorry, sweetheart. Do you know anything yet?"

I pull back from the hug. "The doctor came out to tell us the extent of her injuries and then went back in to continue with her surgery. It's not good, mum."

"We don't know that yet, Owen." Isabella says.

My dad grabs my left shoulder. "Owen, don't draw any conclusions yet. I can't even imagine what you must be feeling right now, but try to stay positive. Yes?"

"It's kind of hard to do that, dad."

"I know. But try."

I nod.

"Unfortunately, we have another problem right now. We just saw the news. They know it was Claire in the car. It won't be long before the whole hospital is surrounded by cameras."

"Actually, cucciola. They already are, and they definitely noticed us coming through those doors. It won't be long before they connect the points and realise who Owen is."

"Shit. Come on. I can't…" I start walking back to where I was sat before. I cover my mouth with my hand and start pacing back and forth.

"Son, don't worry about that. Right now, I'll contact the police to manage this. I'll hire private security if that's what's needed. You don't have to worry about anything, but Claire. Okay?"

I nod. "Thanks, dad."

"Of course."

We sit and much like before, we wait.

An hour passes by and still no one has come out to tell us anything about Claire. It's kind of hard to follow my dad's advice the longer I sit here knowing nothing. My mum's phone rings and she answers.

"Yes. Thank you, Peter. Please tell her there are still no updates." She hangs up. "Peter says Karen's flight already landed. They should be arriving in 45 minutes, an hour tops."

"Okay."

We keep waiting. What the hell are they doing that is taking them so long?!

Claire, please fight. Please.

Some time later, I hear the fast approaching sounds of the click-clack of heels. I stand up.

"Karen?"

She turns around. Her eyes are red. "Owen." She walks towards me and hugs me. I hug her back.

"How is she?"

"I don't know. The doctor came out to tell us about her injuries and then went back to surgery. That was 2 hours ago."

"Is it too bad?"

I look down for a minute and then back up at her. "She has a broken right arm, a third degree burn in the outer part of her left arm, she dislocated her pelvis, 2 broken ribs and a punctured right lung."

As I list Claire's injuries her eyes start to widen. I can see the fear creeping into her features. She starts to cry. "Oh my God! How could this happen to her?"

I hug her again. "I don't know. I don't know."

I turn my head and see the doctor coming in. "Karen, that's him. The doctor."

We both start walking towards him. "Doctor, this is Claire's sister, Karen."

"Dr. Fukunaga." He stretches his hand and Karen shakes is.

"How's my sister?"

He exhales. "There was a great amount of pressure in her chest caused by all the air that was escaping from her lung into it, but once we released all the air, we were able to suture her lung. The process of debriding her arm, took some time too, she w-"

I interrupt. "I'm sorry. Debriding?"

He nods. "That is the process of removing the dead skin and tissue from the burnt area of her left arm. She's going to need a skin graft to close the wound. Her right arm is in a cast and the CT Scans show her pelvis is intact and so are the veins and arteries that provide blood to her legs."

"What about her head? Did she injure it at all?" Karen asks.

"Other than superficial lacerations and hematomas, no. The scans are clean. There are no obvious brain injuries. Of course all of that will be confirmed once she wakes up. Further testing will be done then."

"Can we see her?" I ask.

"No. I'm sorry. Right now she's in post-op. She will be staying there for the next 3 to 4 hours. Then she will be moved to the ICU. You will be able to see her for a short amount of time once she's there. But not today."

I nod. "What are we watching for? What should we expect?"

"Right now, the next 24 hours are critical. We have to see how her heart responds. Again, there was a large amount of pressure in her chest, so we have to look out for that. Also, her lung. There's still the possibility that it might collapse again. We're going to monitor her for the rest of the day and all through the night." He looks at us both. "Now, for you two. I know you're filled with worry, but I'm going to ask you to please don't disregard your own well-being. Make sure you eat and rest well. I cannot tell you how many times I've seen family members get sick because they refused to leave the hospital at all. There's no point in staying here all day and especially all nightlong. Go home, get some rest and come back tomorrow morning. You think you can do that?"

I don't know if I can. "What if something happens, we-"

Dr. Fukunaga cuts my train of thought. "If something happens, we'll call you immediately. But let's maintain a positive out look here. The surgery went well. Right now, it's up to Claire. She's going to need her family to be strong with her. You won't be able to do that unless you take care of yourselves."

"Okay." I say. I would rather stay here. But I guess he's right. I can't be there for Claire, if I'm not taking care of myself.

"Karen, I'm going to need you to sign some papers. Yolanda here, will explain everything to you. Okay?"

"Okay." She walks to the front desk again.

I turn back to my family.

"See? The surgery went well. That's good, Owen. That's really good." Isabella says.

"Yeah, yeah that's good." Since I received Karen's call, this is the first time I feel some hope.

Claire is going to be okay. There's no other choice.

I hear Karen thank Yolanda. I turn and walk a few steps in her direction.

"Karen, come. Let me introduce you to my family." She comes closer and stands next to me. "This is my mum, Emilia. My dad, Benjamin and my sister Isabella."

"I wish we could've met under less unfortunate circumstances, Karen. But it's still very nice to meet you." mum says.

Karen gives my mum a sad smile. "Yeah, I wish that too. It's nice to meet you too, Ms. Vernelli."

My mum shakes her head. "Please, call me Emilia. I hope you don't mind, Karen; but I told Peter to take all your things to our house. There's plenty of space and you're more than welcome to stay as long as it is needed."

"Thank you, Emilia. I'll accept your offer. That's very nice of you."

"Please, it's the least we can do." mum says.

My dad speaks up. "Well, we're heading home. I'm sure you saw the reporters outside, Karen. We'll take care of that immediately."

Her eyes widen. "Oh my God! Those are for Claire?!"

"Yes." He adds. "Unfortunately she was recognised, but don't worry. We'll handle it."

She nods, disbelief on her face.

"Please listen to the doctor's advice. You can come home whenever you both feel like it, but please at least come spend the night. Yes?"

I feel like a kid again. "Yes, mum."

Karen nods. "Thanks again. To all of you."

"Of course."

My parents start heading out. Isabella tells them she's coming with them.

"Here. Take my keys. See you guys later. Nice to meet you, Karen."

"Nice to meet you too, Isabella."

She walks out of the hospital with my parents. I'm left alone with Karen. We sit down in the still empty ER room.

"Where are the kids?" I ask.

"I left them with Scott. They wanted to come. I didn't think it was appropriate for them to be here. Not yet, anyway."

"Yeah, probably for the best. They too have been through a lot."

"Yeah."

We stay silent. There's something that's been gnawing at the back of my mind. I hope Karen can give me an answer.

"Why was she here, Karen?"

She looks at me and frowns. "It's not my place to say, Owen."

My face falls.

"No, no. It's nothing like that. I promise. It's good."

"Good? As in, 'she's going to forgive me' good?" I start getting excited.

"That's it. Nope. I'm not saying anything else! You want her to murder me? I already said too much!"

We laugh a little. "Okay, okay. Fine. I'll wait for her to tell me."

We stay there talking. I tell her about my family, about myself. What Claire and I have been doing in New York other than the interviews. I tell her Claire got an amazing opportunity to choose the job she wanted and how I had made the decision to go with her wherever she chose to go.

"You love her, don't you?"

Without batting an eyelash, I say. "I love her."

She smiles. "Yeah, it was pretty obvious. Had to ask, though."

We decide to call it a night at around 9pm. Nothing's happened in all the time we were here, hopefully nothing will happen when we go home.

I wake up the next day at 7am. I want to be at the hospital as early as possible. I take a shower and while I'm in there, I think of what Karen said to me last night. Claire came to New Haven for something 'good'. Maybe she did figure out her feelings.

I step out of the shower. I change, grab my wallet and cell phone and head to the kitchen for a quick breakfast. I step off the stairs and see Karen having breakfast in the dining room.

"Good morning, Karen."

"Owen. Good morning."

"No calls, right?" I ask.

"No calls at all."

"Great!" There's already food laid down on the table. So, I have some fruit, a bagel and a cup of coffee. I finish my breakfast at the same time as Karen.

"Ready to go, Karen?"

"Ready. Let's go."

The drive to the hospital is relatively silent. We're both anxious. We want to actually see her, confirm with our own eyes that she's still here. But, at the same time, I'm nervous. Somewhat scared, really. I know her injuries. I know what the damage was. But one thing is to hear about her injuries and another completely different is to _see_ the damage on her body.

I park the car and we start walking towards the hospital's main entrance. I feel my phone vibrate. I pull it from my jeans' pocket and see my mum's face on the screen.

"Hey, mum."

"Owen. You left before I could tell you. Something happened…"

Karen and I stop in our tracks. The whole entrance to the hospital is flooded with reporters, paparazzis, curious onlookers, you name it!

"Yeah. I'm seeing it. Just tell me one thing. Have they figured out who I am?"

"Yes, they have. I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"It was bound to happen. Call you later, mum."

I turn to look at Karen. Her jaw is basically on the floor. "Oh my dear God! How the hell are we supposed to get through?"

I look back at the sea of people. "Uh. I guess we'll figure it out."

I put my hand on Karen's back and guide her forward. We start getting closer to the group of people and I brace myself.

"The moment they see us, they're going to bombard us with questions. Just look down, ignore them and move forward. Okay?"

She nods.

"Excuse me. Sorry." I start pushing people lightly out of our way. The moment I make eye contact with a man for half a second, I start hearing whispers. Those whispers turn into shouts and then, the eruption of the crowd.

And it starts.

"Owen, why did you hide who your family was? Are you ashamed of them?"

"Owen, how's Claire?"

"Is it true you broke the drunk driver's jaw?"

"Who is she? Is she related to Claire?"

"You're a redhead, just like her! Tell us your name!"

"Have you seen the CCTV footage of the crush?"

"Are you and Claire dating? The leaked footage showed you kissing her!"

I look up to see how Karen is handling this. She looks completely overwhelmed by it all. Obviously, any normal person would. I see video cameras, cameras, cell phones and I even see those long mics they use in studios.

I'm annoyed, all right. I'm about to get legitimately pissed, because really, how insensitive can you be? I didn't even know there was CCTV footage. I don't ever want to see it, but if you have seen it, why are you here creating even more chaos? I will never understand these people.

When I think I'm in serious risk of punching someone again, I start hearing the shouts of policemen telling people to back off.

"Move back! Let them through!"

"Rick, bring the barriers! Hey, I told you to move back!"

A policeman approaches us and escorts us into the hospital. They close the doors.

"What the hell?! These people are unbelievable!" Karen says exhaling loudly and putting a hand on her forehead.

"Sorry about that, ma'am. We received a call from your father I believe, Mr Grady?"

"Yes. He told he was going to talk to you guys."

"He did. We made the rounds and saw barely any people, so we had to dismiss his complaints. About 15 minutes ago, we were doing another round just in case and we saw all these people. We called for backup and we're going to do some crowd control. We apologize again for the inconvenience."

"No, I get it. These people pop out like annoying zits." I say.

"We'll take it from here. We'll call your father again and discuss a game plan. Well, I'll let you go. Have a good day, sir. Ma'am."

"Thank you." Karen and I say.

"Well, let's go to the ICU, Karen."

"Yes, let's."

We take the elevator to the 12th floor where the ICU is. We step off the elevator and walk to the front desk. Apparently this whole area is completely off limits to your everyday visitors. We only see staff walking around.

"Good morning. We're here to visit a patient. Her name is Claire Dearing. My name is Owen Grady and hers is Karen Mitchell."

"Okay. Give me a moment, please." She starts typing on her keyboard, then she picks up the telephone. "Yo, I have two visitors here for Dearing, Claire. Uh huh. Okay." She hangs up the phone.

"Okay. I'm going to buzz you in. Only two visitors per patient are allowed in the general area of the ICU, which is behind those doors and you're only allowed to visit the patient one at a time and for no more than 10 minutes, please. Dr. Fukunaga is waiting for you to update you on Ms. Dearing's health."

"Understood. Thank you." We start walking towards the door. We hear it unlocking and walk through them into the ICU. There's a small waiting area with a nursing station. I recognise Yolanda, the nurse who wrapped my hand yesterday.

"Good morning, Yolanda."

"Good morning, Mr. Grady. Mrs. Mitchell. Dr. Fukunaga will be here shortly. Please sit."

"Thank you."

We sit a little impatiently. We both want to see Claire now.

Karen turns and looks at me. "You should go in first."

"Are you sure? You're her sister."

"Yeah, but she came here to see you. I think you're the first person she should see."

"If you're completely sure…"

"I am."

"Okay. Thanks"

"Of course."

We wait a short time before we hear Dr. Fukunaga greet us. "Good morning."

"Doctor. Good morning. How's my sister?"

He opens a chart and reads quickly through them. "Her oxygenation levels are good, her brain activity is perfect, so far she hasn't showed any signs that she's not responding to treatment. We sho-"

His pager starts beeping and interrupts him. He apologizes and looks down at it. He raises his head slowly and I swear he is paler than he was 10 seconds ago.

"Please stay here. Yolanda, come now!"

He starts running somewhere and Yolanda runs after him.

I look at Karen. Something's not right. I can feel it. She can too.

I turn and start walking down the same small corridor they did. I feel like I'm a magnet, like an invisible force is pulling me to something. I turn right and what I see makes my heart drop to my stomach.

I see Dr. Fukunaga and several other people around this one body. They all move furiously, attaching cables and passing instruments to one another. It isn't until someone says 'clear' and they all take a step back, that I see whom they are trying to revive. When I hear Karen's gasp, I know this isn't a bad dream.

I see Claire's body jolt upwards from the shock of electricity. I see the flat line on the heart monitor and that's when everything really hits me. Tears start pouring out my eyes and I start shaking. I put a hand on the window that separates me from Claire and I ask to whatever higher power, to please not take her away from me.

I hear Karen's cries far away, even though she's standing right next to me. I see the nurse operating the defibrillator turn up the voltage at least 3 times. I close my eyes. Please, don't leave me.

"Claire, please open your eyes. Please, open your eyes."

An hour later, Karen and I sit outside the general area of the ICU. Tears still streaming out of our eyes. I feel tired, but I don't want to sleep. I don't want to leave the hospital, because everything outside would just make what happened real. I don't think I'm ready to feel the avalanche of emotions just yet.

She's alive. It took them 10 minutes to restart her heart. But she's alive. We were practically dragged from the ICU's general area. We didn't want to have Claire out of our sight. But they told us the doctor and nurses had to make sure everything was working the way it was supposed to be. We've been here waiting since.

During this last 24 hours, I've realised how much I hate waiting.

The doors from the ICU open and Dr. Fukunaga comes out. Karen and I stand up.

"She's awake."


	18. Chapter 17

Chapter 17:

"She's awake."

"She's… what?" She's awake? She was revived an hour ago, and she's awake already? Yeah, that sounds like Claire.

"Thank God!" Karen says. More tears run down her cheeks.

"Can we see her now, doc?"

"Yes, you can. But…" He raises his forefinger. "Keep the conversation short. She has broken ribs, which means talking too much is going to cause her pain. She's also on strong pain medication, so don't be alarmed if she seems disoriented or just drifts off in the middle of a conversation. For today, only one person can visit. 10 minutes, that's all the time you're allowed."

We nod.

"Go, Owen. Tell her I'm here and that I'll see her tomorrow."

"I will." I put my hand on her shoulder and nod. I follow Dr. Fukunaga to Claire's room.

We round the corner and I find myself in the same spot I was in an hour ago. Only this time, it is just Claire in the room. I hadn't realised before, but the right side of her face is badly bruised; from the side of her face all the way down to her neck. It's an angry purple.

The doctor seems to notice I'm looking at her face. "It looks worse than it actually is. She's only answered yes or no questions, so she hasn't quite moved the muscles in her face much, but expect her to feel some discomfort when she starts talking a bit more."

I nod.

"10 minutes, Mr. Grady." he reminds me.

I nod again and I open the door to Claire's room.

Her eyes are shut but I can tell she's not asleep, at least not deeply. I close the door softly; she doesn't move. The closer I get to her bed, the faster my heart beats. My eyes travel from her face to her left arm. I can see the burn through the gauze. It is at least 4 inches long.

There's a chair on the right side of her bed. I pull it closer and I sit down. I reach for her hand, but then remember the cast.

I call her name.

"Claire?"

She scrunches up her face just like she did a few days ago. Then she opens her eyes slowly. She blinks a few times before recognition floods her face.

"Hey you." she whispers with a hoarse voice.

That's when it hits me. _Truly_ hits me, that I could've never heard her voice again. I could've never seen her beautiful green eyes again.

I break down.

I try to hold it in, but it just makes it worse.

"Hey, hey. I'm okay, just banged up pretty badly. But I'm okay."

I shake my head. Tears still streaming down my face. "Your heart stopped. I saw the flat line for _10 minutes_. I thought I lost you."

"I'm here and I'm not planning on going anywhere. I promise. That was just me being over dramatic." she says softly.

I laugh through my tears. She laughs too, but when she does she gasps and stops laughing.

"Sorry. That hurt."

"Yeah, you have a couple of broken ribs." I sniff and wipe the tears from my face.

"What happened, Owen? The doctor only told me I was in a car crash."

"What's the last thing you remember?" I ask.

She thinks for a second. "I remember getting in the cab at the airport, that's about it."

I nod. "I don't know where exactly the crash was, but I do know it was a drunk driver. Went through the red light and hit you."

"Oh. What about the taxi driver? Is he okay?" she asks concerned.

"Yeah, he had minor injuries. He went home yesterday."

She nods.

We stay quite for a little bit. I look at her and see that she's thinking. She turns her head towards me.

"I'm sorry."

"You're sorry for what?"

"For how I reacted in New York. It wasn't fair on my part." She takes a shaky breath, as to not aggravate the pain in her ribs more. "Especially because there's something I haven't told you yet."

I frown. "What haven't you…" I stop myself. "You know what? Let's talk when you're better. You shouldn't even be talking this much right now."

She shakes her head. "No. I should've told you. I feel like such a hypocrite for reacting the way I did."

"What is it?" I'm starting to get worried now. What hasn't she told me that could be making her feel so bad?

Her eyes start to well up. "3 years ago… I was engaged."

I freeze and look at her. Did she say what I think she said?

"Engaged?"

She nods and tears start running down her cheeks. "He cheated on me a month before our wedding. 6 months later I took the job at Jurassic World. Owen, I'm sorry I didn't tell you."

Oh my God! And I thought I was the one with the big, fat secret! I stand up and start pacing.

"Owen?"

She was engaged? She was _engaged_? She almost married some other dude and she didn't think to mention it?! I'm about to voice all of these thoughts, but I remember we're in a hospital. Claire is in a hospital bed, recovering from severe injuries. I cannot explode. Not in front of her, at least. So I decide to remove myself from the situation.

"What you just said hasn't quite settled on my brain yet, so I'm going to let it… settle."

I walk closer to the bed and kiss Claire on the forehead. I don't want her to think I'm going to disappear or anything. I just need some time to think and I can't do that in her presence.

I walk to the door and stop when I remember I haven't told her Karen is here.

"Karen is here. She asked me to tell you she's going to see you tomorrow."

She nods. There's an incredible amount of sadness on her face. I make sure she knows I'm coming back.

"I'll see you tomorrow, okay?"

"Okay." Her voice's shaking. "I'm sorry."

"I know."

I close the door. I see Yolanda sitting behind the desk.

"Will you be looking after Claire today?"

"Yes, I will."

I nod. "Good. See you tomorrow then."

"See you tomorrow."

She buzzes me out and I push the door. Karen's reading a magazine, she raises her head when she hears me coming. She's about to stand up, but I sit next to her. I look forward. Thinking.

"Owen? How is she? Did something happen?" she asks a little uncertain.

"She's as good as she can be after what happened to her."

She's looking at me, searching my face. "Then why do you look like that?"

I slowly turn my face to look at her. "She told me she was engaged 3 years ago."

Her eyes widen a little. "Oh. I wasn't expecting her to tell you now." She looks a little confused at me.

I bark out a laugh. "She was engaged! And she didn't tell me! Why didn't she tell me?! She knows she can trust me! You're her sister, please make me understand!"

She puts the magazine down. "I didn't know Patrick that well. I talked to him like 4 times probably. They met in a cocktail party for the company she was working for at the time. They were together for 2 years maybe, before he proposed. She told me over a phone call she was going to get married. She was excited. I could tell she loved him. But, I always felt there was something off about him. He didn't look at Claire the way she looked at him. Deep down I think she knew that, but she decided to ignore her gut feeling about him."

I'm not enjoying this story.

She continues. "A month before the wedding, she was going to his apartment to have breakfast with him. I guess he forgot, because when Claire stepped off the elevator, right in front of her, Patrick was kissing another woman. She had obviously spent the night at his apartment. She basically told him to go to hell, threw the ring to his face and left. She took the job at Jurassic World not too long after that."

I shake my head slightly. "What kind of moron do you have to be to cheat on someone? Cheat on Claire? He obviously didn't know what he had."

"I know. Claire changed after that. She has always been a driven person, but after Patrick, she became obsessed with her work. She pushed everyone out of her life little by little. I was lucky if she answered my phone calls and even luckier if she called me." She looks at me. "I guess, to answer your question, I think she didn't tell you because she was afraid of trusting you. Claire is a very smart woman, but sometimes she thinks things too much. She needs to learn how to trust others again. Although, to be honest, I think you've mostly achieved that already."

I look at her. Now I know why Claire said she had taken a leap of faith before and it didn't work out for her. I understand Claire better, now. I guess I'll just have to make sure she knows, understands, that I would never, _will never_ do something like that to her. I love her and I will go to my grave making sure she knows that. I only have to make sure I say that at the right moment. I don't want to scare her off.

I nod at Karen. "Thanks for telling me that."

"You're welcome." she smiles. "Now what?"

I shrug. "I don't know. Do you think maybe we should sneak Claire a cell phone? That way at least we can text her."

"Can she text? Wouldn't her cast get in the way?"

"I don't think so. It's not too thick around her wrist. She would be able to ho-"

"Are you conspiring to get Claire a cell phone?" Dr. Fukunaga says.

I look at Karen and we both look at Dr. Fukunaga. "No." We say at the same time.

He stands in front of us with his arms crossed. "I thought so. You don't need to do that anyway. We'll be keeping her in the ICU for 48 hours, then we're moving her to a regular room."

"Oh, that's great! We can visit her longer when she's there right?" Karen says.

"Yes and the two of you can go in at the same time too. Within the visitor's hours, of course."

We nod.

"I was told by the police that they managed to pull Claire's belongings out of the car before the fire reached the trunk. They asked me to give you this." He pulls out of his pocket a card and gives it to Karen. "Her emergency contact is the only one allowed to take her things."

Karen takes the card. "Thanks, doctor."

"Okay, see you tomorrow then." The doctor shakes our hands and leaves.

"We should go to the police station now. Take advantage of our time."

"Yes, I'll call them right now."

We start walking out of ICU and step into the elevator. Karen pulls out her cell phone and dials the number on the card.

"Hello, this is Karen Mitchell. I was told I could pick up my sister's belongings. Her name is Claire Dearing. Yes, I'm on my way there. Okay. Okay, thank you." She puts her cell phone back in her purse. "They said they have everything ready for us to take her things."

"Good. Now we have to see if the paparazzi will follow us, 'cause the reporters won't and the onlookers won't either unless they have nothing else to do. I really don't get it. In New York no one followed us, and if there's anywhere in this country that you're guaranteed you'll be followed by paparazzi, it's New York."

"Well, you and Claire were on TV a lot. Plus, the paparazzi wouldn't follow you because there was nothing juicy. Now they know who your family is. That's juicy _and_ sells."

"Yeah, I guess. But I don't like being seen as _juicy_."

She laughs.

We step off the elevator and walk to the hospital's main entrance. The same policeman that escorted us in is standing by the doors.

"Mr. Grady. Heading out already?"

"Yeah, the doctors won't let us see her for long."

"Oh. Well, you folks are going to need some help getting home. Would you guys like to be escorted?"

"Actually we're going to the police station." Karen says.

"Oh, well. That settles it. I'll give the guys the heads up and they can make sure you two get there without a problem."

"Thanks."

We step out of the hospital and once again, the crowd explodes. The policemen did their job fast though. There are barricades, letting us walk to the parking lot without us having to push our way through. We get into the car and we hear the police car sirens. I drive out into the street fast before we get corralled by people. There are 2 police cars escorting us. We get there super fast. I park the car, we thank the guys and walk into the station.

"Good morning. I'm here to pick up my sister's things. My name is Karen Mitchell."

"Can I see your ID, please?"

"Yes." She opens her purse and pulls out her wallet. She hands him her ID.

"Okay. Follow me, please."

He takes us to a room and asks us to wait. A few minutes later, a woman comes in with two suitcases and a ziploc bag.

"Good morning. These are the things we managed to pull out of the car. The suitcases are pretty much intact. Here in the ziploc bag are her cell phone and wallet. Her purse was completely burnt, these apparently flew off the car at the moment of impact."

She hands Karen the ziploc bag and I take the suitcases. Karen's asked to sign some papers and then I drive us home. When we get there, the house seems empty. I leave Claire's suitcases by the door and walk to the living room.

My parents are probably working and I don't know if Isabella had any plans for today. I look at my watch. It's 11:30am.

"Hey, Karen. I want to talk to you about what's going to happen once Claire leaves the hospital."

She walks to the living room and sits down. "Yeah, I was thinking about that too."

I sit down on the couch right across from her. "Obviously Claire has the final word, but I think we should have certain things laid out."

"Agreed. Dr. Fukunaga hasn't told us how long Claire is going to be in the hospital. We'll have to ask him tomorrow, but when she's released from the hospital, I really doubt she's going to go back to New York. I mean, even if it's a short flight, I don't think she'll tolerate being sat in the same position for 40 minutes."

"Yeah, I know. I was thinking she could stay with me. There's plenty of room in this house. She would be more than comfortable here. I think she should stay in New Haven for as long as she needs too, until she feels better at least."

She nods. "I agree. She's going to need you, Owen. I have to go back to Madison soon. I can't just leave the kids with Scott and I have to go back to work. I'll talk to her tomorrow. I'll probably be going home tomorrow evening. I can catch a flight on Friday night or Saturday morning and then go back home on Sunday evening. I could do that until she gets out of the hospital."

"Yeah. It'll be good for Claire to have you close to her."

We talk some more. I ask about Zach and Gray and how they're handling what happened at the park. She tells me Zach is the one to have changed the most. He has become very overprotective of Gray. He listens to him now, he's reduced the amount of times he rolls his eyes at her. Gray had nightmares at first, but with Karen's reassurances and Zach's support, they have mostly stopped. They were both very scared when they heard what happened to Claire. Gray wouldn't stop crying and Zach was doing his best to keep his emotions in; trying to be strong for both Karen and Gray.

"Speaking of which, I told them I was going to call them as soon as I left the hospital. I think I'll just skip to the good news and not tell them about Claire's heart stopping." She shakes her head. "I still can't believe that happened."

"Yeah, you know what she told me?"

"What?"

"She told me she was just being over dramatic." I laugh.

"Jesus. She's always so fast at making those kinds of jokes. I know she doesn't look like the kind of person who would be funny, but she really is. Especially with those fast, witty one-liners. She hasn't done that in a while. You're helping her go back to the person she was, Owen. For that, I am thankful."

"Thanks."

"I'll go to my room to talk to the kids and let them know I'm coming home."

I nod. "I'll let you know when lunch is ready."

"Okay, thanks."

I sit back on the couch. I've seen the side of Claire Karen was talking about. A bunch of times, really. When we were at the pizzeria and she kept telling about that 'yummy guy', or when she started seducing me in her room the day she got the migraine. When she told me she was not Darth Vader. There are so many moments we've created in the last 2 weeks; I can't even begin to imagine the memories we'll have for a lifetime. I'm not planning on spending any less time than that with her.

I hear the front door opening and see Isabella come in carrying bags. Nonna Francesca is right behind her.

"Nonna."

"Mi amore, come here." She hugs me. "I'm so sorry for what happened to Claire. How is she?"

"She's awake. I talked to her. I was only allowed to talk to her for a little bit because…" I still cannot believe what happened. Talking about it makes me nervous still.

"Because what, Owen?" Isabella asks.

I take a shaky breath. "Her heart stopped. It took them 10 minutes to bring her back."

They gasp. "Oh my God." Isabella hugs me. I welcome the comfort.

"But she's okay, though?"

"Yes, she is. It was just really scary to see the flat line in the heart monitor."

"I can't even imagine what you must've felt, amore. But she's okay and you should focus on that. I saw the videos of her leading that big dinosaur after the other monster. She's a strong one. She'll be okay. Now, you probably need a distraction. So, you're going to help Isabella and I make today's lunch."

"We're making raviolis from scratch. Oh, where's Karen?"

"She's in her room talking to her kids. I told her I would let her know when lunch was ready."

"Okay. Well, let's get started then."

The three of us walk to the kitchen. The kitchen is big. There's an island in the middle. There's a big oven on the wall, kinda like the one's you see in cooking shows on TV. The kitchen is mainly white; lot's of light comes in through the big windows. All the appliances are chrome coloured and the cabinets are mahogany.

Isabella puts the bags on top of the island and starts pulling the ingredients from the grocery bags. I help her. Teresa comes into the kitchen and asks if there's anything she can do to help.

"Yes, Teresa. Make a capresse salad, please. After that, we are going to need as many hands as possible to stuff the raviolis." Nonna says.

"Yes, Mrs. Vernelli. How many people are going to be eating lunch today?"

"Did your parents answer you, Isabella?"

"Yes, nonna. They're coming to lunch."

"Then we're 6, plus you and the 2 other girls. Make a salad for 9 people, Teresa."

"Okay."

We get working. Nonna tells me we're making raviolis stuffed with ricotta cheese and spinach. I'm in charge of washing, boiling and cutting the spinach. Nonna is in charge of making and kneading the dough and Isabella will help mix the spinach with the ricotta cheese and making the actual ravioli.

"Isabella, it's too quiet in here." Nonna says.

"Oh right! I forgot, give me a minute." She washes her hands and leaves the kitchen.

"Where is she going?" I ask.

"To bring music, of course. Isabella and I have decided that every time we're in the kitchen, we should play music. That way we can create a more fun atmosphere and she can practice her singing."

"Teresa tells me she's very good."

"Teresa is right, amore. Your sister has inherited your grandmother Veronica's ear for music. That woman had a true talent for it."

"Yeah. I don't remember her much, but I do remember her singing to me. I remember how she could make me stop crying every time she sang. Too bad Isabella never met her. They would've been attached to the hip, I bet."

"Oh, yes. Plus, Veronica had that easy going personality. One of the friendliest, nicest people I've ever met. She left this Earth to soon."

"Yeah."

My grandma Veronica died when I was 6. She died of kidney failure. I remember her taking me to the park for walks, she would baby sit me from time to time. She would always sing and she would tell me to sing with her. After she died, I remember feeling sad every time I heard someone sing. It was odd. I was a kid and the concept of death was still strange to me. I hadn't been touched by it until my grandma died. A few years later, I picked up the guitar and started learning. It would make me happy to play music. I stopped playing it when I got into college. Haven't picked up one since.

"Here." Isabella comes in again and places a speaker in a corner of the kitchen, syncs it with her iPod and music starts playing. She puts the iPod next to the speakers.

"Does this mean I'm finally going to hear you sing?" I ask.

"Maybe, I don't know. I usually just set it on shuffle and sing if a particular song feels right. Sometimes I don't even sing at all. Other times I just hum to it."

"We shall see then."

We each go back to our assigned duties. The smell of the spinach combined with the ricotta cheese is so good. It smells like home. Nonna is kneading that dough like a pro. I mean, she _is_ a pro, but still! 88 years old and you would never know it. She turns the dough into a ball, grabs a knife and cuts it in two. She rolls one half of the dough and dusts it with flour. Then, she picks it up and rolls it through the pasta machine. She repeats this process a couple of times until the dough is paper-thin.

Isabella starts dusting the counter. "Owen, we need some egg wash. Could you make some?"

"Sure. You guys use water or milk?"

"For ravioli, water."

"Okay."

I grab a small bowl and break an egg. I start whisking lightly to break the yolk and then I add water little by little until it reaches the consistency I want. I open the drawer and take out a brush.

"Here."

"Awesome. Brush it all over the dough and then we start putting about a tablespoon of filling about 2 inches apart."

"Gotcha." I start brushing egg wash all over the dough, while nonna starts rolling the second half.

I had forgotten how therapeutic cooking is, and the music does set a nice vibe to it. I grab a spoon and start putting the filling on the dough. Isabella does the same. When we finish with the filling, nonna puts the other half on top and we start pressing the dough around the filling to press out any air pockets that are in there. Nonna passes us all cutters and we start cutting, first making sure the raviolis are sealed completely.

By the time we are done, we have an approximate of 65 raviolis.

"Are we going to feed the whole neighbourhood?"

"Do the math, bro. Don't be lazy. There are 9 people in this house that have to eat. 9x7 is 63. There you go."

"Right. Where are the other two people who work here? I haven't seen them at all."

"Well, Teresa is in charge of the kitchen. Then there's Patricia and Augusta. They are the ones who clean the house; sometimes they help T in the kitchen. Patricia makes really good cookies and Augusta is like the female, not angry version of the hulk. She has super strength, I swear. But she is so sweet, you wouldn't know it."

I laugh, it seems like my family is surrounded by cool, nice people. Teresa fills a pan with water and puts in on the stove so it starts boiling.

"What about the sauce?" I ask. We can't have raviolis without a sauce.

"We have tomato sauce left over from yesterday. We'll heat it up when the majority of the raviolis are ready."

I nod and start cleaning up.

"Oh. It's okay. I got it, Owen." Teresa says.

"Thanks."

"Amore, tell me about Claire. I don't know when I'll get to meet her, but I want to know her a little more. I barely know anything about her."

I smile. "Have you met her sister yet, nonna? Karen?"

"No, I haven't had the pleasure. Isabella tells me she's staying here."

"Yes, I'll introduce you to her at lunch." I sit on a chair behind the island. "Let's see. Claire is a very stubborn woman. When she sets her mind to something, it's very difficult to change it. She's extremely smart. She was basically running Jurassic World all on her own. She's sweet, she's funny, she's brave and she has a way of making me feel confident about myself. It's weird. I don't know how to explain it. She beliefs I can do everything I set my mind to. I feel strong when I'm with her. She's the best thing that's ever happened to me."

There's silence.

"Oh, Lord. You two saw that, right?" Nonna says looking at Isabella and Teresa. They nod.

I look at them confused. "Saw what?"

Nonna walks in front of me and grabs my chin delicately. "You, my dear grandson, are in love."

I look at her and smile. I knew that already, but for some reason it isn't until now that I realize what that means. No one has told me up front how I feel about Claire. Karen asked me if I loved her. I'm sure Phillip and Isabella had a pretty good idea, but no one has told me what they see when I talk about her. It feels incredibly good for someone to tell me that.

"I do. I love her."

I hear a chorus of 'aw' from Isabella and Teresa. I look at them and Isabella starts jumping up and down and then hugs me.

"My brother is in love! You're so cute when you're in love!" She squeals.

"Okay, calm down. Don't make such a big deal out of this."

"Don't make a big deal?! This is the first time _ever,_ that I've seen you like this! I'm so happy for you!" She hugs me again.

I guess being in love with someone makes people, more than just the couple, happy. I'm okay with that. I love watching my family smile.

"Do you want some advice from an old woman, amore?"

"Of course, nonna."

"Now that you know how you feel about Claire, tell her. Don't waste precious time dancing around each other. She came to New Haven to talk to you. If my years on this Earth are anything to go by, I belief she came here because she loves you too. Life is short, so make sure you exploit every single second you have with her."

I nod. "I will. I promise."

"Good boy." She pats my cheek and turns around. "The water is boiling. Owen, start putting the raviolis in, please. Teresa, start putting the olive oil, salt and pepper on the capresse salad and Isabella, start heating up the sauce."

Just like that she changes the topic and prevents me from getting overwhelmed.

I'm putting the last raviolis in, when I hear my mum's voice.

"It smells good in here. Mum, what did you decide to cook today?"

"Well, piccola. With the help of my grandkids and Teresa, we made ricotta cheese and spinach ravioli with tomato sauce and capresse salad."

"Smells amazing, guys! Can't wait to eat it! Owen, how's Claire?"

I can't keep repeating the fact that I almost lost her. "She's good. I talked to her for a little bit. Something else happened, but I'll tell you later with dad, okay?"

She looks at me a little worried. "Sure, but she's okay?"

"She's okay."

She nods.

"Please, let me take care of things. I can handle it from here." Teresa says.

We nod and go to the dinning room.

"I'm gonna go tell Karen lunch is ready."

I start climb the stairs and knock on Karen's door. "Come in."

I open the door and she's sitting on her bed with her laptop open. "Lunch is ready. We made raviolis. You like them?"

"Who doesn't like raviolis?" she closes her laptop and stands up.

"How are the kids?" We start climbing down the stairs.

"They're good. They're relieved Claire is okay. I told them in very general terms her injuries, no doubt Gray will research them all."

I laugh. "Hey, my grandmother is here. She wants to meet you, I hope that's okay."

"Oh, of course."

We walk to the dinning room and everyone is already sat in their places.

"Nonna, this is Karen. Karen, this is my grandmother, Francesca."

Nonna stands up and hugs Karen. "It is so nice to meet you, Karen. I'm so sorry for what happened to Claire, but I'm sure we'll all be having dinner together soon."

Karen laughs. "It's nice to meet you too. I hope so. I think Claire would really like that."

"Well, let's sit down and eat. Let's see if having my grandkids help me cook ruined lunch or not."

"Nonna! I've been cooking for years with you. If it's bad is because of Owen." Isabella says pointing at me.

"Hey! I'll let you know I'm a pretty good cook."

"Why don't we let everyone else be the judge of that?"

Mum raises her hands so her palms are towards us and silences us. "Children, please. Behave."

Isabella and I look at each other and smile. "Sorry, mum." We say at the same time.

"Hey, is dad coming for lunch?" I ask

"No. He called about an hour ago, he said there was some trouble with the sand processor and he had to take care of the paperwork to repair it."

"Oh, too bad. He's going to miss some really good raviolis."

"That's yet to be seen…" Isabella says. I give her a look.

Teresa comes out and serves us the raviolis. They are damn good! We barely talk, everyone is focused on the food. When we finish eating I realise something.

"Isa, you didn't sing!"

"I told you there was a chance I wouldn't."

"I'm starting to think you don't even sing."

"Are you calling me a liar?"

"Hey, you said it."

She puts her utensils down and looks at me. "There's going to be a charity event at the youth centre in a month. They asked me to sing and I accepted. I'm still in the process of choosing the song but, give me 2 weeks and I'll sing for you whatever song I choose for the charity event. Sound good?"

"2 weeks from today?" I ask.

"2 weeks from today."

"Done." I never actually doubted Isabella could sing, I just wanted to make sure she sang a song that would show her range. I would've asked her to sing happy birthday if I wasn't expecting much.

"Cucciola, are you going to be singing with Alexander?"

"Yeah, I am. I'm going to sing a song by myself first and then his going to join me."

I drink some wine. "Who's Alexander?"

She looks at me for a minute. "My boyfriend."

 _Boyfriend?_ "What?! Since when?! I want to meet him." _No one_ dates my baby sister without my approval.

She rolls her eyes. "Here we go…"


	19. Chapter 18

Chapter 18:

"No. I'm not doing this right now. I told you he would get crazy overprotective." Isabella tells mum.

"You were right. Sorry, cucciola. Calm down, Owen. Alexander is a good kid. He's lovely, actually. Your father likes him a lot too."

I look at them for a minute. "Fine. I won't make such a big deal. But I still want to meet him."

"Ugh, fine! He's in Hawaii visiting his dad. He's coming back in 3 weeks. I'll invite him to dinner, you can meet him then."

I nod. "Good."

I decide not to talk about the subject anymore. For now, anyway. We eat lunch and enjoy ourselves. Nonna Francesca asks Karen about her kids and she gladly tells her about them. We finish lunch and nonna says her goodbyes, saying she has a busy day at the bakery. We all thank her for lunch and Isabella offers to drive her.

Karen excuses herself and goes to her room.

I am left with my mum. "You want to go talk in the study? We can wait for your father there."

I nod. We walk across the living room and she opens the door to her study. The last time I was here there was only one desk, usually it was mum occupying it. Now though, they've changed the layout. Instead of one desk, there are two desks facing each other. Behind each desk there is a big bookshelf, both completely filled with books.

Mum walks to the desk on the left and sits behind it. I sit down on the chair in front of her.

"When did you guys change things in here?"

"About a year ago. Your father started working from home more, so we made space for him here."

I nod.

Mum's cell phone buzzes. She picks it up. "Your father says he's on his way. He shouldn't be long."

"Okay."

She looks at me and nods to my hand. "Is it too badly bruised?"

I raise my right hand, unwrap it, look at it and wince. My knuckles are swollen and purple. Scabs have started to form in the cuts that I got. I put my right hand on the desk and mum gasps. She takes my hand and runs her thumbs delicately over my knuckles.

"You didn't kill him, did you?" Because I really don't want to see you in jail."

I laugh. "No, I didn't. I probably would have if the policemen hadn't been there to stop me."

"Has Karen received any calls from the police asking if she's going to press charges?"

"I don't think so. She hasn't told me anything. I'll ask her though."

"We've already contacted our lawyers, they know the situation. The sentence is probably going to receive a lot of attention from the press. They're good with high profile cases. Here."

She opens her drawer and pulls out a card with the law firm and lawyers contact information.

"Thanks." I take it and put it in my pocket. "How long has Isabella been dating this guy?"

She laughs. "This is really bothering you, isn't it? They've actually been together for a little more than a year now. They met in History class. He's studying Art History."

"I've talked to Isabella on the phone enough times for her to tell me. She never mentioned him."

She raises her eyebrows. "Seeing as how you reacted just now, I can tell why."

I open my arms wide. "She's my little sister! How do you expect me to react?"

The door to the study opens and dad walks in. "I wouldn't have expected you to react any differently, son."

He closes the door, walks towards me and ruffles my hair. He walks behind my mum's desk and gives her a kiss.

"Your mother told me you wanted to talk to us both. How's Claire doing?" He sits on the chair next to mine.

I take a deep breath. "When Karen and I got there, it was basically pandemonium. There were reporters everywhere. We had to push our way through. The police got there a little while later and helped us get through. They told me they were going to call you, dad."

"Yes, yes. They did. We formed a very rough strategy, but tomorrow first thing in the morning I'm going down to the police station to perfect it. You and Karen have nothing to worry about."

I nod. "Great. Thanks, dad."

He smiles at me. "After that, Karen and I went to the ICU to see Claire and while Dr. Fukunaga was telling us that Claire had been responding to treatment, he was paged. I saw it in his face that something was wrong. So Karen and I followed him even though he told us to stay. We saw him trying to resuscitate Claire."

Mum gasps and covers her mouth. Dad's eyes widen. "My God."

"It took them 10 minutes to bring her back. They had to basically drag us out and after an hour, Dr. Fukunaga came out to tell us she was awake. I talked to her for a little bit and then… she dropped a bomb on me." I grab a pen from my mum's desk and start fiddling with it.

"What do you mean? What did she say to you?", mum asks.

I look up at them both. "She told me she was engaged 3 years ago. She said that was the reason why she came to New Haven, to apologize for how she reacted. Especially because she was hiding this important detail of her life."

Dad looks at me and asks, "What did you do? What did you say?"

I rub my face. "A million things went through my mind, but I decided to not say anything. I left the room. I didn't want to have a discussion with her, not in the state she's in. So I told her I would see her tomorrow."

My parents look at each other and I go back to fiddling with the pen.

"How are you feeling?", mum asks.

I look up at her. "She completely caught me by surprise. Of all the things she could've said to me, I definitely wasn't expecting that. But, when I was talking to nonna I realised that I don't care. I mean we're not like everyone else. We went on a date once and it went horribly. Then we went from ignoring each other for a long time, to dating each other again after being chased by a dinosaur. We haven't really being together long enough for us to get to know each other that well, but I know after a month of us leaving the island… that I love her. So I don't care if she was engaged before, because my feelings for Claire haven't changed. If anything, I'm surer of how I feel about her and I'm going to tell her that tomorrow."

Mum is smiling at me and I can tell dad is too.

"It feels right, doesn't it?", dad asks.

"It feels right."

I look at mum. "No woman gets to be loved by my son without my approval."

I laugh. "Come on!"

"Now you know how your sister feels."

I raise my hands in surrender. "Okay, okay. Point made." I remember my conversation with Karen. "I talked to Karen and I told her it was okay for Claire to stay here while she recovered. Are you guys okay with that?"

"Of course. We were talking about that last night, actually. We were going to tell you. We were thinking for her to stay in the pool house. It's big enough for Claire to feel comfortable in and she won't have to climb any stairs. What do you think?"

I nod. "Yeah, that sounds perfect. I'll stay with her, help her out as much as she needs to."

"I wasn't expecting anything less. Let us know when she'll be released so I can make sure everything is ready for her.", mum says.

"Thanks, guys." I stand up and hug them both.

As I climb the stairs to my room, I realise that I've told basically everyone in my life that I love Claire. The only person I haven't told is Claire. Let's see if I actually gather up the courage to tell her those 3 words.

There's this sense of things finally falling into place. I hope that feeling becomes a reality. I don't think I can stand any more tragedies. I want to have one of those lives that everyone gets bored of hearing. I don't want to keep being the guy who has the crazy, interesting stories; I'm past that now. I want to have an ordinary life, with an extraordinary woman of course.

I stay in my room thinking about what I'm going to say tomorrow to Claire. She's a businesswoman, so maybe being direct and straight to the point would be the best way to tell her. But there's also the possibility of me sounding too cold. I want her to understand how I feel about her. I don't want to down play it. I don't want to simplify it.

The hours pass by, night falls and I'm still nowhere near knowing how to tell Claire that I love her. I guess I'll just have to do it the Owen way. I'll wing it.

I wake up the next day so nervous, I'm basically shitting myself.

Literally.

If I say those words, that's it. It's all up to Claire. I would basically be ripping out my heart and handing it to her. If I say those 3 words, there's not taking them back.

Just get up. Get out of bed, Owen!

I shower and get dressed. It's 8am. I go down to the dinning room and there's no one there. I go to the kitchen and find the 3 maids getting breakfast ready.

"Good morning."

"Good morning.", the 3 of them say.

"We haven't been introduced. I'm Owen." I stretch out my hand to an older woman.

"Nice to meet you, sir. I'm Patricia."

"Isabella tells me you bake really good cookies. I would like to try them very much. I'm a sucker for cookies, Patricia."

She smiles. "Then I'll make sure there's always a batch around while you stay here."

"I would appreciate that very much. You must be Augusta, then."

I shake the hand of a younger woman, not as old as Patricia, but not as young as Teresa. "Yes, I am. It's nice to meet you."

"I hear you're super strong."

She laughs. "If you have trouble opening up a jar of pickles, I'll be glad to open it for you."

I point to her. "I'll definitely remember that."

"What would you be having for breakfast today, Owen?", Teresa asks.

"Same as yesterday, please. Could you throw some ham into my scrambled eggs?"

She nods. "Of course."

"Thanks."

I turn around and go wait in the dining room. I grab the newspaper that's sitting on the table and read it while I wait for my food.

Claire and I are front news. We don't get the front cover photo. Since it's debate season, that's the news they focus their attention more on. But we still get a good two pages worth of writing. They don't know much. The story is mainly resuming 'dinogate' and what happened two days ago. They mention the drunk driver and give some details about him. His name is David Castell, he's a 45 year old divorcée. Allegedly, he has been to rehab twice before and both times he's left the facilities before completing treatment. He's currently in jail awaiting trial. Which reminds me, I have to ask Karen if she knows something about it.

Teresa comes out of the kitchen with a tray and she places scrambled eggs with ham, a fruit salad and coffee in front of me.

"Thank you very much, T."

"You're welcome." She turns and goes back to the kitchen.

I continue reading the newspaper. I'm glad they haven't infiltrated the hospital. These journalists always manage to pay people off for information. At least they drew the line there. Or maybe they tried, but no one in the hospital accepted. Either way, I'm happy about that at least.

"Good morning."

"Good morning, Karen. Claire's on the newspaper." I pass it to her so she can read it.

Karen reads through it and her eyes stop at a certain part. "David Castell. Do you think what he did to Claire was his rock bottom?"

"I don't know. I want to say that I don't care but honestly, I feel sorry for him."

"Yeah, me too. I was thinking of all the things he had to have happened to him for him to reach this point."

"Well, at least being in prison will force him to sober up. Have you gotten any calls from the police regarding him?" I sip some coffee.

"I did last night. He already has a lawyer, they're waiting for me to press charges."

I pull out my wallet and give Karen the card mum gave me with the lawyer's contact information.

"My parents already talked to them and they know the case. They are just waiting for your call."

She takes the card and stares at it. "Owen, thank you. But I can't afford your lawyers."

I shake my head. "Don't worry about it. I'll be the one paying everything. This is for Claire and I want justice to be made as efficiently as possible. I don't want this to be a thing that's hanging over us. We should be focusing on Claire and only Claire. So don't worry about it. We should take advantage of the press' attention. If the lawyers build the case within the next week, then the court will feel pressured to give a resolution as fast as possible."

She nods. "Yeah, you're right. Thank you."

"No need to thank me."

Teresa brings Karen her breakfast and as soon as we are done eating, we are on our way to the hospital.

We step off the elevator into the ICU and we are greeted by yesterday's nurse. She buzzes us in and we wait for Dr. Fukunaga.

He is taking a while to show up. I'm starting to think that something happened again when I see him round a corner.

I relax.

"Good morning." He shakes our hands. "Sorry I left you waiting but I was reading Claire's latest blood work and everything looks good. We can now operate to get the skin graft she'll need to close the burn on her arm. You'll have to sign some papers, Karen. I want to do the surgery today, the faster we do this, the better it'll heal."

"Were will you be getting the skin from? A donor site?", Karen asks.

"No, the human body will only recognize skin that's your own. If we try to close her wound with a skin graft from a donor's site, her body will reject it within the next 3 weeks. That's usually a temporary solution. We are going to be taking a section of skin from her thigh. There will barely be any scarring. The method we use is very advanced. I have an opening, I can do the surgery in an hour."

"Oh, okay. Um, I'll sign whatever it's needed."

"Perfect, you can both see her today. One at a time and, like yesterday, 10 minutes each. I'll let the nurses know and they'll come for Claire in about half an hour to prep her for surgery."

We don't get to say anything other than 'thank you'. He leaves quickly to get everything ready for Claire's surgery.

"Go Karen. It's your turn now."

She smiles. "Okay."

I am left to my thoughts again. I can feel myself vibrating. I want this day to be over to be honest. By tomorrow morning I'll know what Claire said. I'll have my answer. I can't help but doubt if she'll say that she loves me too. The signs are all there, if I were looking from the outside, I would think she definitely loves me. But it's never that simple, at least not for us. She could be scared to the point of telling me she feels nothing for me. She could say that too much has already happened, that's it's obvious it's not going to work out. I don't know. I don't know what she's thinking.

I try sitting down, I try pacing back and forth, I try to just _be_ , but nothing settles my nerves. I lean on the wall and pull out my phone to check the time and I see my lockscreen. I smile. I think of all the times in my life when I thought I would spend the rest of my days alone. When I had no family to talk to, no friends. No one I truly trusted. Then Claire came into my life and changed everything, albeit not immediately. That first stolen kiss felt like nothing I've felt before. I'm not nervous about the future. I'm nervous about how we'll start that future.

I'm so entranced watching my phone, I don't even hear Karen standing next to me.

"She looks really happy in that photo."

I turn my head and see Karen looking at my phone. "Yeah, that was the day of our second date. I surprised her by kissing her on the cheek. She wanted to delete it but I begged her not to. I love that photo."

"It's a really good photo."

I put the phone in my pocket. "Hey, how is she?"

"She had a bit of a rough night, but not because of her injuries."

I look down. I feel guilty. "Yeah. I guess I should fix that, huh?"

She smiles. "I guess you should."

I nod and start walking in the direction of Claire's room. My mind starts running once again. Just wing it, screw it. You always do that any way and most of the time things turn out fine. Please baby Jesus, let things turn out better than fine today!

I knock lightly on Claire's door and she turns her head towards me. I step in and close it. I look at her for a minute. Her eyes are swollen. Shit. That must've aggravated the pain on her ribs.

"You're angry.", she says.

I guess I was frowning. "I'm not angry."

"You look angry."

"I'm thinking."

"You look angry when you're thinking."

"Stop talking.", I say. I stand at the foot of the bed and cross my arms. "I was talking to my grandmother yesterday and she gave me a piece of advice that I think I'm going to follow."

"What advice?", she asks a little wary.

"We can't keep doing whatever the hell it is that we're doing. I can't keep doing it. I simply can't."

I hear her heart monitor spike a little. Word your thoughts better, asshole! You're going to give the woman a heart attack.

"Owen, I know I was wrong in reacting the wa-"

I raise my hand to stop her and shake my head. "I don't give a shit…" Her eyes widen a little. "… that you were engaged before."

A look of disbelief settles on her face. "What?"

I walk to the left side of her bed and sit on the chair. "I couldn't care less if you were engaged before. I'm not going to focus on the past. I'm going to focus on the present. I didn't tell you about my family and you didn't tell me about this person you were going to marry. I think we can call it even."

She's still looking at me in disbelief. "Wh- what are you saying?"

"Oh, am I not making myself clear?"

She shakes her head no slightly. "I don't think I'm following your train of thought."

"Okay, then I'll simplify it for you. I love you."

The look of disbelief in her face changes into one of a catatonic person. "Either you said what you just said or I've been given too much morphine."

"No, you heard right. I, Owen Grady, love you, Claire Dearing."

Her heart monitor really starts going crazy. To the point were I think nurses are going to rush in any moment now. She starts breathing really hard and I see her close her eyes. Her hand goes to her side.

"Wow, okay. I'm sorry. Probably should've chosen a better moment to say this. Claire, calm down. I'm so-"

"I love you too."

I freeze. "What?"

She starts to try and control her breathing. "I love you too."

She's looking at me, gauging my reaction. I put my elbows on the bed and cover my mouth. "This turned out better than I thought it would."

She laughs and winces again. "Sorry, I'm sorry. I keep forgetting you have broken ribs."

"It's okay. I like it when you make me laugh. Even if it's a little painful."

We look at each other. A smile starts slowly creeping onto our faces until we're both smiling like the Cheshire cat. I stand up and kiss her. Not for long so she doesn't have to take a big breath after.

I kiss her on the forehead. "I love you."

"I love you too."

I sit back down on the chair, lay my head next to her arm and close my eyes. I take a deep breath in.

We stay quiet. We don't say anything to each other. The 10 minutes I was supposed to be here have already passed, but since no one is telling me to leave, I won't. Dr. Fukunaga said half an hour, Karen was here 10, I guess I could stay 20.

I feel her fingers on my hair. She starts playing with it. I open my eyes.

"Doesn't your arm hurt?"

She shakes her head and keeps playing with my hair. "Not really. It's just a broken arm. If I raise it for too long it hurts, but since my elbow is supporting it, I'm okay."

I nod and close my eyes again. I'm not tired, but this urge to take the moment in overwhelms me.

"Owen?"

"Hmm?"

"What happened to your hand?"

I open my eyes and look at her. "I crossed paths with the guy who did this to you."

She pulls my hair a little. "Always so impulsive."

"His jaw will eventually heal." I say not regretting what I did for a minute.

"So will I."

"I know."

I guess this is the time to ask her if she wants to stay with me after she gets out of the hospital.

"Hey, I was wondering if maybe you would like to stay at my house when you're released? While you heal."

She looks at me. "Your parents house?"

I nod. "Yes. When I went to ask them, they said they were about to offer you a place to stay. Mum said the pool house is all yours if you want it."

She's smiling. "You fixed things with them?"

I smile. "Yeah, I did. They were here for a little bit. Isabella was too."

"They were?"

"Yeah. So? What do you say? Will you be staying at the Grady-Vernelli residence with this man as your humble servant?"

"Servant?"

"I'll do what ever your heart desires. What ever you need, you'll get."

She raises an eyebrow slightly. "I think I find the idea of having a servant is very appealing."

"Is that a yes?"

She bites down on her lower lip and nods. "Yes."

I stand up and do a happy dance. She laughs softly and I sit back down on the chair.

There's a knock on the door and Yolanda walks in.

"Sorry to interrupt. But I have to get Ms. Dearing prepped for her surgery."

I nod and stand up. "See you when you wake up, okay?"

"Okay."

I lean forward again and give her a peck. "I love you."

"I love you."

I smile at her one more time and walk out of the room. I walk to a corner and lean back on the wall.

This is it. I know it is. This is the day were everything starts. The first day of the rest of my life, and I couldn't be happier. I walk out of the ICU and see Karen. I smile at her like a crazy man and hug her. I even pick her up for the sake of it.

"I take it that you told her and she finally listened to me?"

I put her down. "I told her and she totally said she loved me! Wooo!" I do a happy dance again.

"Ah, finally! And for the record, I'm glad she chose you."

"Thanks, Karen. I'm glad she chose me too." I hug her again.

We walk out of the ICU and into the waiting area. I text Isabella and tell her about the new development. She replies immediately.

*What?! Oh my God! I'm so happy for you, big brother! You know what's next, right? *

*What? *

*You need to introduce us. *

*She accepted to stay at our house after she's released. You'll meet her then. *

*When's that going to be? *

*Don't know yet. I'll ask the doctor later today. *

*Okay. See you at lunch? *

*Don't think so. Claire's having surgery to cover up her burn. Probably be home by dinner. *

*Okay. I'll let mum and dad know. See you at dinner! *

*See you. *

Karen and I have to do the thing that I hate very much doing. We wait. 30 minutes, 40 minutes, an hour and an hour and a half later, we see Dr. Fukunaga approaching us. We stand up.

"How'd it go?", I ask.

"It went very well. She's still asleep, but she should be waking up any moment now. She's been moved to a regular room and you can both go in if you want. Go to the nurse station and they'll tell you her room number."

"Great, great. Thanks, doctor." We both shake his hand.

We go to the nurse's station and they tell us Claire is in room 354. We climb the elevator to the third floor and we look for 354. We open the door and we see Claire asleep, her left arm wrapped up in bandages. Her room is big, there's even a couch next to her bed, up against the wall. We sit there and wait for Claire to wake up. This type of waiting is not that bad.

Karen's cell phone starts ringing. "It's Scott." She stands up and leaves the room to answer her call.

I look at Claire and see the familiar scrunching up of her face.

She's waking up.

I stand up from the couch and kneel next to her bed. I cross my arms on top of the mattress and rest my chin on my arms. She opens her eyes slowly. I don't say anything. I just look at her.

She smiles softly at me. "Philadelphia.", she says with a hoarse voice.

I frown. "What?"

She smiles again. "Philadelphia."

I look at her confused. "Uh, some context I think would help me understand. 'Cause you saying Philadelphia is very vague and I can only think of one thing when you say Philadelphia."

"What do you think I mean by Philadelphia?"

I look at her as if she just asked me the most obvious question. "Duh, food. Cream cheese, that's where my mind goes. Are you hungry?"

She shakes her head. "God. No, I'm not hungry. I meant Philadelphia as in folder number 2."

Realisation dawns on me. "Oh! The pharmaceutical company. You made up your mind?" I nod. "I guess we're moving to Philadelphia, then."

She nods and smiles. "I guess we are."


	20. Chapter 19

Chapter 19:

"One week. She needs to stay a week so I can make sure there are no infections and the skin graft takes, then she's free to go home."

"That's great!", I say.

"Will she need to be in bed rest?", Karen asks.

"No. Actually she's going to need to do her daily activities, being in bed rest will only increase her chances of having her lung collapse again. I'll give you further instructions the day she's released."

Karen laughs softly. "I think Claire will be glad to hear that. She's never been one to stay put."

Dr. Fukunaga's pager beeps. "Okay, guys. I'll leave you with Claire. I'll be coming tomorrow morning to check the skin graft."

"Okay. Thanks, doc.", I say.

Karen pulls out her cell phone. "I have to get my bag ready. My flight leaves in 2 hours."

"I thought you were leaving at night?"

"I was, but Scott called to tell me Gray had food poisoning. The poor kid has been throwing up his guts out. I have to go take care of my baby."

"Oh, poor kid. Okay, I'll take you home so you can get your bags ready."

She shakes her head. "No. It's okay. I'll take a cab. There are still a couple of hours until the visitor's time is up. Stay with Claire."

"Are you sure?"

She nods. "Yeah. I'll just say goodbye to her."

I nod and she walks inside Claire's room.

One week. She'll be able to come home with me in a week. I'm kinda getting nervous now. Claire is going to meet my family _and_ she's going to stay at my family's home. Now that's the ultimate test. I know my family will love Claire and vice versa, but you never know.

Karen comes out of the room and says goodbye to me.

"Thank you so much for everything, Owen. I'll call the lawyers as soon as I am home. Will your parents and Isabella be home? I want to thank them too."

"Yes, they are. Are you going to be coming next week?"

"Yeah. I already told Claire I'll be coming next Friday night and stay until Sunday night, maybe."

"That's perfect. See you next Friday then." I hug her. "Bring the kids next time. There's room for them too."

She laughs. "Okay, I will. See you, Owen."

"See you, Karen."

She walks away and I go into Claire's room again.

"Did she leave?", Claire asks.

"Yeah, I told her to bring the kids when she comes back and she said she would."

"Really? That's good. I already missed too much time with them, I don't want to miss more."

"You won't."

We talked for about an hour before the visitor's time was over. I kissed her goodbye and told her that I would see her tomorrow. The doctor came in the next day and removed the bandages to see if the skin graft had taken. At first it was shocking, for Claire and myself. It was an angry red and you could clearly see that the piece of skin on her arm didn't belong there. Claire was mortified, she even said she felt like Dr. Frankenstein's monster, but Dr. Fukunaga assured her it wouldn't look like that forever.

Unfortunately though, it would take about 6 months for her body to fade out the edges of the skin graft. But, if she was consistent with the treatment, then it should fade out a lot. You would still be able to tell because that section of the skin will be darker no matter what, but it could've been worse.

I set up a routine for the next week. I wake up at around 8am, I have breakfast and then I go see Claire until the visitor's time is up. As the days go by, I see Claire get better. She talks without wincing as much, though she can't still talk for too long, the bruises on her face have started to fade and she smiles more now. She seems less burdened, and so do I.

The day of her release arrives and I couldn't be more ecstatic. Mum had the maids clean the pool house at least twice, nonna came to the house this morning to leave some desserts she had baked the night before and dad had been busy talking to the police to coordinate our exit from the hospital to our house. Isabella left quickly after breakfast. I have no idea where she went. I open Claire's suitcases and look for the clothes she told me to bring her. I put it all in a duffle bag and I go out the door.

I throw the duffle bag in the trunk of Isa's car and I drive to the hospital. It's almost as if the media knew Claire was leaving the hospital today. I swear I can see double the amount of people that I've been seeing throughout the whole week. It takes me a while to park the car, but once I do I walk quickly inside and walk to Claire's room.

I knock on the door and walk in.

"Good morning, babe." I lean forward and kiss her. "Ready to get out of here?"

She smiles. "So ready. I cannot express to you how boring it is to be lying down on a bed without being able to move for an entire week. I'm ready to get up."

"Well let me tell you. The whole house has been in an uproar, people running around, phone calls being made. Everyone is making sure everything is ready for you."

"Aww, they're so sweet. I hope they like me. Wouldn't that be a bummer? If they didn't."

I shake my head. "Don't worry about that. They'll love you. Just like I do."

She smiles. "Are you trying to make points with me?"

"Is it working?"

"Yes."

There's a knock on the door and Dr. Fukunaga and Yolanda come in.

"Good morning. How's everyone today?", Dr. Fukunaga asks.

"Good, actually. I'm pretty happy that I get to leave today.", Claire says.

"Well, before you do that, I need to tell you about the exercises you'll need to do and the precautions you should take."

Claire and I nod. "First, right now you feel pain in your ribs but you feel like it's a manageable pain, that's why you can talk more now, correct?"

"Correct."

"You are going to need to stand up in a few minutes, but when you do that you are going to feel a lot of pain. You've been in the same position for a week, which means your muscles are sore, but because of the pain medication, you haven't really felt it. When you try to sit up, the natural movement of the action will press the muscles against your ribs, which will hurt and add the sore muscles to that… it won't be pleasant."

Claire deflates a little. "And I woke up so happy."

"How long will she be in that kind of pain?", I ask.

"2, maybe 3 days. Once she gets moving she will feel better."

Claire perks up again. "I won't be bed ridden?"

"No. Like I told your sister and Owen before, being in bed rest won't help you heal. Actually you run the risk of your lung collapsing again and you already had that happen, so let's take all the measures to avoid that. But please, don't over do it. Basically, don't stand for too long and don't lie down for too long. Which takes me to the next part; you'll need to do some coughing exercises."

She frowns. "Won't that hurt?"

"Unfortunately, it will a little. The exercise is for your lungs. You are not breathing properly because it hurts when you do, so these exercises will help your lungs from collapsing. Yolanda will tell you how to do them."

She nods again.

"You should also start getting used to the idea of having your cast, because you were unlucky enough to break both your radius and your ulna and that will take anywhere between 2 and 6 months to heal."

Her eyes widen. "6 months?! That's ridiculous! I'm right handed, what am I supposed to do for 6 months without my right arm?!"

"Those are bones that take a long time to heal. There's nothing I can do for you there. Now your burn, y-"

She rolls her eyes. "What?! Is that arm going to be out of commission too?"

I put my hand on Claire's shoulder. "I can't even imagine how frustrated you must feel, but just hear him out. This is what you have to do to get better, and I will be with you every step of the way."

Her expression softens and she looks up at me. "You're right. Sorry. Please continue, doctor."

"The section of your arm that was burnt has to be completely covered all the time, for at least a year. If you don't, you will have horrible scaring. The sun shouldn't touch that part of your arm at all. You'll have to wear sunblock and a sleeve to cover up the area."

"Okay.", she says.

"I'll go and get your release papers ready. The path to recovery won't be easy, Claire. But trust me when I tell you it could've been a lot worse. You have people who love you and who will help you through this. Besides, this can't be more difficult than running away from dinosaurs, right?"

She smiles. "Well, nothing's chasing me or trying to eat me so…"

Dr. Fukunaga laughs and leaves the room.

"Okay, Claire. You ready to get up?", Yolanda asks.

She scratches her forehead with her right arm. "I was."

"I'll walk you through it, don't worry. Owen, come and help her out. You need to learn the proper way to help her up."

"Yes." I walk around the bed to Claire's left side and stand next to Yolanda.

"Okay, so what you want to do Claire is keep your back as straight as you can. Normally, when you're lying down and you want to sit up you bend forward, so to minimize the pain, try not to do that. Owen, what you should do is hold her above the elbows and pull her forward gently. Let her guide you, when she stops, you stop. Got it?"

We both nod. "Got it."

Yolanda pulls the sheets off of her and she presses a button to move Claire to a sitting position. She winces and closes her eyes.

"That hurt?", I ask.

"Yep. I'm really not going to enjoy the next part."

Yolanda pulls out from under the bed a step stool that's attached to the bed. "Okay. Stand up, Claire. Take all the time you need. No one's rushing you."

I step closer to the bed and stretch out my arms. She looks at me and lifts her left arm first. I hold her above the elbow like Yolanda told me. She starts moving her left leg out of the bed, which she does pretty well. But it's her right side that's hurt, so she hesitates a little.

"Take your time. I'm right here.", I tell her.

She starts moving her right leg and she tries to sit up, but she gasps and stops.

"That really hurt."

"I got you. Do you want me to hold your right arm?"

She nods and lifts her arm up. I hold her and she closes her eyes.

"Ready to try again?"

"I think so."

She manages to sit up, both her feet on the step stool. She's breathing hard, which is only causing her more pain, but she wants to do it all in one fluent motion so she can get this over with.

Yolanda steps next to me. "When you try to stand up, use your legs to push upwards. Remember not to bend too much and Owen, the minute she's lifted herself from the bed pull her towards you, again, gently."

"Okay. Whenever you're ready, Claire."

She looks down, that fiery determination that I love shining through. She raises her head and nods. "One fluid movement and don't let me sit back down."

"Okay."

She breathes in and out and looks at me. I squeeze her arms gently so she knows I've got her. She pushes herself up and I pull her forward. She steps off the step stool and directly into my arms. She hugs me with her left arm, her right arm by her side and her head on my chest.

"And I thought the leg cramp I had last week was painful. I'm never sitting down again." She looks up at me. "How the hell am I going to get changed?! I'm never going to be able to put pants on."

I smirk. "I wouldn't mind."

She shakes her head. "Keep dreaming, buddy."

"Actually, you'll need help, Claire. You can't bend down. Putting a shirt on is going to be very painful, the motion of lifting your arms up is going to be borderline unbearable."

A murderous look crosses her eyes. It's scaring me a little. "You should've broken his ribs, not his jaw."

Wow. She's scary. "Well, he won't be able to talk or eat for a while, anyway so…"

She greets her teeth. "And I won't be able to do anything by myself for months, so…"

A puff out my cheeks a little and think of a way to calm her down. "I can look for him, break all of his ribs and then I can tickle him to death."

She gives me a deadpan look and she gives me a barely there smile.

"I'll help you get dressed, Claire.", says Yolanda.

I kiss her on the cheek and leave the room to give Claire some privacy. I wait outside and start thinking of ways to help her out. It took her 10 minutes to stand up. I'm not even thinking about tomorrow, I'm thinking of right now. In a few minutes she'll have to get in and out of the car. How will she manage that? I definitely didn't think this part through. Maybe there were things I could've bought to make her more comfortable, things I could've bought to put around the house in order to help her move without me having to be there at all times. Claire is a very independent woman, the fact that she will need to depend on someone to help her do, basically everything, is going to hit her hard.

As soon as we get home, I'm going to figure out ways to help her out. Now though, I have to figure out _how_ to get her home. The door opens and Yolanda tells me to come in. I push myself of the wall and walk inside. Claire is standing next to the bed, her left arm holding her right side.

"How it'd go?"

A little frustrated she says, "It was painful and very uncomfortable."

I wince. "We'll figure out something. I promise."

Her expression softens, "I know."

"Okay. So, the coughing exercises are simple. Every 2 hours you'll need to do 10 minutes of gentle coughing and slow deep breathing. I recommend putting a pillow over your broken ribs, to control the movement of your chest a little. That will help reduce the pain. Do you guys have a pool?"

Claire looks at me. "Yes, we have a pool."

"That's perfect. You could get in and walk the length of the pool. It will help your muscles recover from being in the same position for a week and the cool water will be soothing for your ribs. Of course, don't get in alone. It's a precaution."

"What about the burn and the cast?"

"We'll give you 2 sleeves. One is for your daily activities and the other one is a waterproof one. You'll have to use it when you shower too, remember nothing hot can touch the surface of your skin, so wear that sleeve when you're in the pool and you should be okay. The cast is acrylic so don't worry about it. We're also giving you waterproof tape to cover up the stitches from the surgery."

We both nod. Dr. Fukunaga knocks and steps in with a couple of papers.

"You're ready to go, Claire. I'll give this to you, Owen. Give them to the security guard at the exit. " He hands me a bag. "All the things you'll need are right here. I'll see you in a week Claire. Take it easy, okay?"

"Okay."

"Thanks, doctor. For everything.", I shake hands with him.

"No problem. See you, guys." He walks out of the room.

"It is protocol to take the patient in a wheelchair to the exit, but I don't think you would like that very much, Claire. So we'll just ignore it for today." Yolanda says.

Claire smiles. "Thank you, Yolanda. For taking such good care of me, and being so patient." She stretches out her left hand and Yolanda takes it.

"It was my pleasure. Take care, Claire."

Yolanda shakes my hand and leaves the room.

"Well, let's get out of here.", I tell Claire.

"Let's."

We start walking slowly to the elevator and then I remember something I haven't told Claire.

"Shit. I forgot to tell you."

"What?", she frowns.

"There are a ridiculous amount of reporters outside the hospital. They've been here basically since you were brought in."

She just looks at me. "Of course there are. Nothing is ever simple. Did you bring my sunglasses?"

I open the duffle bag and pull out her Chanel sunglasses and give them to her. "At least it'll cover up some of the bruises. Not that it matters anyway, my whole right side is just a mess."

"They'll find someone else to bother. They always do. We'll have a normal life. You'll see."

I'm not talking just about now and I hope she knows that. She looks at me and smiles. "A normal life. That sounds very nice."

The elevator doors open and we are greeted by a couple of policemen. "Ms. Dearing. Mr. Grady, good morning. We've been assigned to escort you home. You'll be exiting the hospital through a back door. Would you please give us your car keys, Mr. Grady? We'll bring the car over so Ms. Dearing doesn't have to walk all the way to the parking lot."

I take the keys out of my pocket and hand them to him. "Thanks, man."

"Of course. I'll be right back. I'll leave you with my partner, so he can walk you through the plan."

He nods to his partner and leaves to get Isa's car.

"The plan is simple. I'll ride at the front, my partner at the back. We'll drive through main avenues to get you home fast. We've been tracking the reporters' movements and usually, they stop chasing you after 5 to 7 blocks. So we're expecting either the amount of reporters to increase or for them to follow you longer. For either case, we're prepared and we have confidence we'll get you home safely and quickly. Do you have any questions?"

"No, I don't. You Claire?"

"No. It was pretty clear."

The policeman nods. "Okay, then. I'll contact the station to let them know we're almost ready to go. Excuse me."

He walks away and Claire turns towards me. "You've been pretty busy."

"It wasn't me. That was all my dad. He told me he would take care of it and he did."

She looks at me. "Your parents have done a lot for me and they haven't even met me."

I shrug. "I think they just saw the way I talked about you. They must've figured out how special you are."

She shakes her head. "Sometimes you say things that I just don't know how to answer to."

"You don't have to give me any answers. I'm just telling you how I feel."

She gets closer to me. "Well let me tell you this. I love you and I will be thankful that you came into my life until the day that I die."

"I love you too. More than you can imagine."

We hear the steps of the policeman approaching. "We're ready for you folks. Please follow me." I put my hand behind Claire's back and we walk to the backdoor. We see the car and I see Claire hesitate a little.

"This is not going to be embarrassing at all."

"Give me a second." I put the duffle bag on the trunk. "Guys, could you give us a minute?"

"Of course." They each head to their cars.

"The good thing about my sister's fancy car is that it can do this." I press a button on the key and the step that's right under the door lowers itself until it's almost touching the floor. "Step on it, there we go and…" I press the button again and the step starts going up with Claire on it. "I know this is the difficult part, but we can lower the sit, so you don't have to bend forward." I push a button on the side of the sit and it lowers itself. I grab Claire by the elbows like Yolanda told me and she gets in the car without much pain. "Not bad, huh?"

She looks impressed. "Not bad at all. Now let's get out of here. If I have to be in this hospital one more second, I swear..."

"Okay, okay. Let's get out of here." I close Claire's door and I signal the guys that we're ready to go. I get inside the car and text everyone at home and Karen that we're leaving the hospital.

"Here we go." I start the car and we go. The moment we drive off the parking lot, the clicks of the cameras can be heard. The screams of everyone yelling my name and Claire's can be heard from all directions. It's mayhem.

"Oh my God. You had to walk through this everyday to come see me?"

I drive slowly just in case some idiot decides to walk in front of the car. "Yeah, but it was more controlled than this. There were barricades, so I could walk without someone shoving a camera or a microphone in my face. When we first came see you, Karen and I had to walk through that entire crowd. She couldn't believe it, and neither did I to be honest."

She shakes her head. "All of this because I was in a car crash? I would've expected them to care for a couple of days, but a whole week?"

I turn a corner. "Well, they found out who I was the son of. That's when all hell broke loose. Add that to us running away from dinosaurs… you get this."

She doesn't say anything. She turns her head towards me. "Should we have some fun with this?"

I turn and look at her for a second, then look back at the road. "What do you mean?"

"There's definitely going to be a story about this in the news, what if we give them a closing shot of sorts?"

I think it over. "Like a thumbs up from you or something like that?"

"Yeah. What do you think?"

I nod. "Yeah. Look around and wait for a group of photographers to gather around. I'll roll down the window about a fourth of the way down, so they can see your hand."

"Okay.", she smiles.

We are forced to slow down because of traffic, that's when the photographer's get a chance to catch up.

"Let's wait for us to start moving again and then I'll roll the window down."

She nods. When the traffic start moving again, I roll the window and Claire gives them a thumbs up. I thought before the clicks of the cameras were loud; know they sound like the magnified clicks of insects, a million of them. I start driving again, picking up speed a little. I roll the window up.

"For some reason that was really fun and it was the stupidest thing." She laughs.

"That's what happens when you're in a hospital bed for a week."

We come to a red light and we're forced to stop again. "Hey. You want to really have fun with this?"

"What do you have in m-"

I lean forward all the way so she doesn't have to and I kiss her mid sentence like the good old times. She gasps the same way she did when I first kissed her in the park. I hear the shouts of the photographers.

"I knew they were together!"

"Keep kissing her!"

"That's the money shot!"

I pull back and smile at her.

"You love doing that, don't you?", she asks.

"You have no idea." I laugh.

She looks a little like a sore loser. "Just wait until I get better. I swear I will get you back."

My spidey senses start tingling. "Oh, I can't wait."

She gives me that seductress look and turns her head to look forward. "I know just the thing that will drive you crazy."

"What do you mean?" Not again with this game! This is the third time she's done it. First in the hotel room with the 'I will change my shirt right here', then in the car with the 'I'll look for your phone there' and now this?!

"What do you think I mean?" her voice a seductive whisper.

I look at her for probably 5 seconds without saying a word.

"Close your mouth, Owen. You're going to catch flies."

She won, she definitely won and she knows it.

I look forward just in time for the light to change to green. I start driving and we leave the mob behind. They got what they wanted.

We drive without further problem. The photographers stopped chasing us and the police escort makes way for us to get home faster.

"Less than 5 minutes and we're there." I tell Claire.

"I'm nervous."

"Why?"

"What do you mean 'why'? I'm about to meet your family and I look like I was beat up by Ronda Rousey!"

I laugh. "Come on! You don't have an eye swelled shut or a bust up lip. They'll love you. Don't worry about how you look. You were just in a car crash and you still look insanely hot. Trust me."

"You showering me with compliments is not going to make me less nervous."

I slow down and pull up into the driveway. "Well, it doesn't matter anyway, 'cause we're here."

I take off my sit belt and turn to look at her. "Everything is going to be fine. They loved Karen and I don't see why they wouldn't love you. Give me sec to thank the guys and then I'll help you out, okay?"

She nods. "Okay."

I get out of the car and walk over to the policemen. "Thank you guys for the help."

"Of course, Mr. Grady. Have a nice day."

"You too." I raise my hand to say goodbye and walk back to the car. I open Claire's door.

"Okay, come on."

She puts her right leg on the step and I pull her forward until she's standing on it with both feet. I lower the step and she steps off of it. I walk to the trunk and pull out the duffle bag.

"Ready?"

"Yeah, I think I am."

"Okay. Come on."

We walk to the front door. I pull out my keys and open it. I hold Claire's hand to help her up the step and close the door.

"We're home!"

I hear the familiar click clack of heels of my mum. She's coming down the stairs and when she sees us, she smiles.

"Claire. It's so nice to finally meet you. I would hug you, but I don't want to cause you pain."

Claire smiles. "It's nice to meet you too. I'm having a little trouble doing the small things you usually don't think about. Hopefully it'll pass soon."

"It will, don't worry. In the mean time, I hope you make yourself at home. Everyone is very excited to have you here. Even my mother is, and let me tell you, she despised every single girl Owen brought home. She hasn't even met you and she already baked two different desserts for you."

I nod. "That's very true. She would give them all the stink eye. It's actually quite funny, now anyway, back then not so much."

Claire smile widens. "Thank you so much. For everything."

Mum touches Claire's arm lightly. "You don't need to thank me, you're family now."

I look at Claire and see that all the nervousness has floated away. I hold her left hand carefully, making sure I don't touch her burn.

"Speaking of family…", mum continues. "Have you seen Isabella? I've been calling her all morning and she hasn't picked up the phone."

I frown. "That's weird. Let me give it a try." I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Isa. The phone rings and rings and when I'm about to hang up, she answers the call.

"Owen."

"Isa where are you? Mum has been calling you for a while now."

"I know, I know. I was just about to call her. I'm almost home. Could you send Augusta to the garage please? I need super strength right now."

"Why do you need Augusta?" I look at mum and shrug.

"I went shopping."

"You went shopping?" Mum looks at me confused. Isabella is not one to go shopping, especially in the _morning_. "Okay, I'll send Augusta."

"Great! See you in literally a minute."

She hangs up and I look at my phone. "That wasn't random at all. I'll go tell Augusta. Claire, are you okay to stay here or you want to go rest?"

She looks at me like I just asked _the_ dumbest question. "I've been resting for a week. Lying down is the last thing I need right now. I'm good here. Go."

I squeeze her shoulder and go look for Augusta.

As I walk towards the kitchen I realise that I just left Claire alone with my mother. She told me to go, so… I'll ask her later. I step into the kitchen and look around. There's no one here. I step into the dining room and see Teresa and Augusta cleaning the silverware.

"Hey guys."

"Good morning, Owen.", Augusta says.

"Good morning."

"Augusta, Isabella needs your superpower. She asked for you in the garage."

She laughs. "I'll go right away." She stands up and goes to the garage.

"Is Ms. Dearing here?", Teresa asks.

"Yes, she is. I'll introduce you in a minute." She nods. "I'll leave you to it."

I go to the garage to see what Isa bought. I open the door and see Augusta lifting a huge box and a smaller one.

Wow, she really is She-Hulk.

"Isa?"

I walk around the car to see Isa with at least 10 bags. She closes the trunk.

"Hey, bro. Is Claire here?"

"Yeah, she's with mum. Why so many bags? And what are in those boxes?"

"Umm, a little help maybe?"

I take half of her bags. "Oh, sorry. There we go. So?" I point to the bags.

She huffs. "I'll tell you in a minute. These are kinda heavy. Can we go inside first? Plus, I want to meet Claire."

I smile and nod towards the door. "Okay, let's go."

I close the garage door and we walk to the living room to drop the bags off. We walk to the entrance where I left mum and Claire. I am surprised to find Claire talking to my mum _and_ dad. He must've come down when I was looking for Augusta. She's talking to them like she's known them forever.

Isabella whispers. "They seem to have hit it off."

"Yeah, I guess they did. Come on, now's your turn." I hold her hand and pull her forward. "Hey, dad. I see you've met Claire."

"There you are. She's much lovelier than I thought she would be."

Claire smiles and I smile at her. "That she is. Claire, this Isabella. Isa, meet Claire."

Isa's smile broadens. "It so nice to finally meet you, Claire. Owen's been talking non-stop about you. I kinda feel like I know you already."

Claire looks at me. "Has he?"

"He has. How are you feeling? 'Cause you look pretty good."

"Thanks. My ribs are not collaborating with me right now. Everything else is manageable. For the moment, at least."

"Cucciola, where were you? You've been gone almost all morning.", mum asks.

"Well, last night I was talking to Alexander and I told him Claire was staying with us and he reminded me, 'cause I completely forgot, that his mum is the head of ortho at Mass General. So, he gave me her phone number and I asked her what kind of things someone with broken ribs needed to have around the house to make their lives easier, and she gave me a list of things. So, I've been getting everything she told me. It took me longer than expected because some of it was just plain ugly. I never knew that buying pillows could be so difficult. So yeah, that's were I was."

We all look at her. I have the best sister in the world.

"Ah, Isa! You are the best. Come here!", I give her a couple of loud, wet kisses on the cheek and hug her.

"Ew! Too much love, Owen. Too. Much.", she says.

"Isabella, you didn't have to that. You guys are doing more than enough by letting stay here.", Claire says.

Isa shrugs it off. "It's no trouble. We would've gotten all those things eventually. Diane also gave me some tips to help you sleep more comfortably. We'll have you feeling better in no time."

Claire looks overwhelmed. "Thank you."

"Sure thing."

Dad looks at his watch. "Well kids, we'll leave you. We have a meeting to attend to. We'll be back for dinner. Claire, it's a pleasure having you here."

"Pleasure's mine."

"Okay children, behave. Claire, feel free to smack on the head with your cast if they misbehave."

"Will do.", Claire smiles.

"Mum! That's child abuse!", Isabella tells mum.

"Whatever you say, cucciola."

Isabella, Claire and I spend the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon checking out the things that Isa bought for Claire. To help Claire sleep better, she bought her a bed rest pillow. Diane, Alexander's mother, told Isa that she would need to sleep kinda sitting down, but not completely. The pillow will help keeping her from lying down. She bought a stool that will go in the shower, so she can shower safely. That was the small box, the big box was one of those mainstays cart, so when Claire is in bed she has somewhere to put her laptop and she can even use it as a tray if she wants to eat. Isa also bought protein shakes. Diane told her protein was vital to have a good recovery, but that eating chicken and meat everyday can get boring, so she could drink protein shakes. She bought vanilla, chocolate and caramel flavours since she didn't know what Claire liked. Turns out Claire loves caramel. I'll drink the chocolate one and Isa the vanilla one.

"Diane told me that aside from the pain of course, not being able to do things by yourself could be one of the worst things about having broken ribs. So she told me of a way to get your pants on by yourself at least. She said that a t-shirt was more complicated, but wearing blouses was easier to handle."

"Oh God, please tell me how to put my own pants on. I cannot tell you how embarrassing it was to have someone dress me. I don't think I've _ever_ been more embarrassed."

"Okay, I'll show you. Just let me bring my pyjama pants, so I can show you." Isabella stands up and climbs the stairs to her room.

"Your sister is probably one of the nicest people I've ever met, Owen."

I smile at her. "Yeah. She's pretty special."

Isabella comes down a moment after and proceeds to show Claire how to put her pants on.

That didn't sound weird.

We stay there talking until mid-afternoon when Claire yawns. Which was painful for her.

"Okay, come on. You need to rest. I'll show you the pool house."

She dismisses me. "I'm fine. It was just a yawn."

"You're taking pretty strong medication right now, I'm surprised you've lasted this long. Come on." I stand up from the couch and stretch out my hand.

She looks up at me. "So bossy."

"When it comes to your well-being, yes I am." I keep my hand stretched out so she knows I'm not letting her have her way.

"Don't take it personal. He's always been like that. You should've seen him when I got chicken pox. Not my favourite memory.", Isabella says to Claire.

"Fine."

She takes my hand and stands up a little easier since it's a couch and not a bed.

"Patricia and Augusta must've set up everything in your room already. I hope the things I got you help."

"I'm sure they will. Thanks again, Isabella.", Claire says.

"You're welcome."

I slide the door open and help Claire down the one step. I slide the door close and we walk slowly through the yard. We walk past the pool, which is just a few steps from the pool house. I open the door and we step in.

"This is completely different.", I say.

"What's changed?"

"We basically used this as our storage space for our toys and the like. Now it actually looks liveable. As kids we would have to dive to find the toys we wanted. It was filled to the brim. Okay, let me show you around."

When you open the door, the first thing you see is a small living room of sorts. There's a couch, a coffee table and a TV. The bedroom door is a few steps away, at the far end of the pool house. The bedroom is big. There's a king size bed and a complete bathroom. There are French doors in front of the bed, which open right to the pool. Lots of light comes in. It really is perfect. The whole pool house interior is painted in a milky white colour, like the white house.

"I just realized something."

"What?"

"The pool house is bigger than my bungalow was."

"Everything was bigger than your bungalow, Owen."

"Hey!"

She smiles teasingly at me. "I don't even know why you chose that dump. I know Masrani Global offered you an apartment."

"For your information, I wanted to be closer to nature. Being in a big fancy apartment didn't feel right. Working with velociraptors is not a glamorous job, so having a glamorous apartment didn't fit well. Okay, princess?" I tap her on the nose.

"Don't _ever_ call me princess again."

I bow. "What ever you say… _princess._ "

She squints her eyes at me. "Don't test me, Grady."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Dearing." I offer her my arm and she takes it after staring me down for a moment.

She had slip-ons on, so she doesn't have trouble taking her shoes off. Indeed, everything has already been set up. I walk Claire to the left side of the bed, where they've put the bed rest pillow. I help her sit on the bed and she slowly lifts her legs up, eyes closed as if waiting for the pain to hit her. When she's settled herself on the bed, she opens her eyes.

"It worked! I barely felt anything. Thank you, Isabella."

"Good, hopefully you'll be able to sleep well too."

I close the drapes, walk around the bed and lie down next to her.

"It's nice to lie down next to you again. I missed this.", I say.

"I missed this too. Thanks for taking care of me. It seems that's the only thing you've been doing for me these past 3 weeks."

"I'll probably get sick at some point. You'll take care of me then."

"Yes, I will."

I sit up and kiss her. Longer this time. Slower. "I'll take a nap with you. I could use one."

"Okay."

I lie back down and close my eyes. I feel Claire take my hand. I fall asleep.


	21. Chapter 20

Chapter 20:

That was a _good_ afternoon nap.

I keep my eyes closed and I allow my mind and body to take its time to wake up. I start moving my body slowly. My legs first, my arms, I turn my neck and finally, I open my eyes.

Everything is blurry at first. I blink a couple of times and see Claire's arm. At first, I'm a little confused by the cast, but then I remember the last week. I look up to find Claire looking down at me. Smiling.

"Hey.", I say with a hoarse voice.

"Hey."

"Why are you smiling?"

Her smile turns into a grin. "You snore."

I look at her. "I don't snore."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't."

She raises an eyebrow. "I woke up 10 minutes ago and you have been snoring every second since _and_ I woke up _because_ you were snoring. You. Snore."

I look up at her for a minute and think about what she has told me. "I've never been told that I snore, and I've slept in a room with 10 other guys before."

She shrugs. "I'm telling you now. You snore."

I sit up. "If I snore how come this is the first time you've noticed? We've slept together on the same bed a couple of times now."

"I don't know. Maybe this is the first time you've done it, but right now, you definitely just did."

I nod. "Okay, fine. I believe you. I snore. Was it super loud?"

She shakes her head. "Not really. It was kinda cute, actually. I wish I could've recorded you. I really have to get a new phone."

"No, you don't. I forgot to give it to you. Your phone's intact."

I stand up from the bed and open one of Claire's suitcases. I pull out the ziploc bag with her phone and wallet.

"I can't believe they made it out. I thought they had been incinerated or something."

I pull out her laptop too. Since it was in one of her suitcases, it was unscathed too. I sit on the bed again, hand her the ziploc bag and place the laptop next to her.

"The policewoman who gave me all of your stuff told me your phone and wallet must've flown off at the moment of impact."

She frowns. "I understand my phone flying off because I had it, most probably, in my hand, but my wallet?"

I think for a second. "Maybe you pulled it out to pay the driver."

"Yeah, maybe. I guess we'll never know."

"Doesn't matter, it's not important. Hey, how'd you sleep?" I change the subject. Thinking about the accident still makes me nervous. I can't even imagine what Claire must feel about it.

She smiles. "Pretty good. I didn't wake up once. Until you started snoring that is."

"You're not going to let that go, are you?"

She shakes her head. "Nope.", she says popping the p.

I roll my eyes. "You're lucky I love you."

"Yes, I am."

We stay in bed for around an hour. I position the mainstay so it's hovering around Claire's waist. I put her laptop on it and she starts typing away. Of course as soon as she opens that first email she goes into businesswoman mode. That look of utter focus is quite impressive. I don't say anything. I lay on my side of the bed admiring her. That is, until she calls me out on it.

"Are you trying to drill a hole on the side of my face?", she says without taking her eyes of the screen.

"No. I'm trying to memorize everything about you. Beginning with your face."

She stops typing and looks at me with a contained smile. "God. From which cheesy romcom did you take that line from?"

I laugh. "I don't know. But I just heard what I said and you're totally right." I sit up. "What are you so focused on?"

"Oh, I'm answering emails. A lot of well wishes emails and some old ones from Masrani Global. I just have to send one more. You want to read it? I wrote a draft of it the night before I came here."

"Sure." I take the laptop off of the mainstay and put it on my lap.

"Can you read it out loud?"

"Yeah. Let's see." I arrange the screen so I can see better. "Dear sirs, I would first like to begin this letter by thanking you for giving me this one in a lifetime choice. I always felt valued by this company and now, even more. After careful consideration, I have decided to work at Roche Pharmaceutical in Philadelphia. I look forward to working for an industry that's constantly evolving and growing and I hope I can be a part of that growth too. Thank you again for this opportunity. Sincerely, Claire Dearing." I nod and look at her. "Pretty good."

"Short and simple, right? I thought that would be the best approach. Are you sure it's good? I don't want to sound too robotic."

"No, not at all. It's good." I put the laptop back on the mainstay and she sends it.

She closes the laptop and looks at me. "That's it, then. We're officially moving to Philadelphia. Are you completely sure you want to do this?"

I look at her with a deadpan look. "Really? At this point why are you even doubting that I would go with you? Even if you decided to work in Myanmar, I would still go with you. I will follow you anywhere. Got it?"

She smiles. "Got it."

"How are your arms? Do they hurt? Your ribs?"

She wiggles her fingers. "My right arm hurts a little and my ribs hurt the same as before."

I nod. "You can take a pill if it hurts too much. Do you want it?"

She shakes her head. "No. I can handle it."

"Are you sure? Don't be acting all tough on me. If you're in pain, please tell me."

"I'm not. I promise, I'm fine."

"Okay. Do you want some water?"

She smiles. "Sure."

I stand up and walk to the small coffee table that's in the corner of the room and pour water into two glasses. I hand her a glass and I sit back down on the bed.

"So, you haven't told me why you chose the pharmaceutical company."

Her whole expression changes. She drinks some water and puts the glass on the nightstand. "Well, in order to tell you that, first I have to tell you about my parents."

"Okay." A sad look settles on her face. This is the first time she's mentioned her parents at all. This is probably going to disclose a lot more about Claire, and it probably won't be easy for her to tell.

She looks down at her hands and then looks up at me. "When I was 16, my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer."

Cancer. This definitely won't be easy for her. She continues.

"It was a huge shock for everyone. My mum was the healthiest person I knew. I couldn't comprehend how she could've gotten so sick, none of us could understand. She became really ill very fast, we almost didn't have time to react, to process it all."

I don't ask questions, I don't interrupt, I do nothing. I let her tell me about her family at her own pace.

"A couple of months before my graduation, mum got to the point where she couldn't even walk by herself anymore. One day after school, I went to my parents' bedroom to say hi to her and the moment I saw her I knew she wasn't going to be with us for much longer. There was something in her eyes that just gave it away. I broke down immediately. She called my name and I walked into her room and lied down next to her. While I was sobbing on her chest, she promised me she was going to be in my graduation ceremony. She said she wasn't going anywhere until she saw me graduate."

A single tear runs down her cheek. I wipe it away with my thumb and she looks at me. "She was there, like she promised. I was the class valedictorian and I barely made it through that speech. Every time I looked at her, I wanted to burst into tears. After the ceremony, we had a small dinner back home and two days later she was gone. She passed away while she slept."

More tears start coming down her cheeks. I move to sit closer to her and she rests her head on my shoulder.

"We were all heartbroken. Devastated. Those first couple of months were, what I thought at the moment, the hardest of my life. But then it got worse."

Worse? What could be worse than losing your mother at such a young age and in such a shattering way?

"My dad became… lost. It was like he lost his compass. He became a robot. He would wake up, make Karen and I breakfast, take a shower and leave for work. He would come back and sit on the couch staring at the empty space where my mum used to sit. Then he would go to sleep and start the same routine the next day. He would only speak when necessary. Hearing him talk became a rarity. At first Karen and I didn't notice, 'cause we were in a similar state, but then exactly 4 months after mum passed away - dad killed himself."

"Oh my God." Poor Claire! Poor Karen!

God, Karen. If the unthinkable had happened to Claire, she would've lost her parents and her sister in horrible ways.

Claire's chin starts trembling. I kiss her on the temple. "I'm so sorry this happened to you and Karen."

She sniffs softly. "Yeah, me too." She raises her left hand and wipes the tears from her cheeks. "And the way it connects with me choosing Roche; when Karen and I were going through dad's things, I found a 5 boxes of antidepressants. 3 were empty and the other 2 were sealed. We contacted his doctor, and it turns out that dad had been taking them and he had been going to a psychologist to help him through his grief. We couldn't understand why had he killed himself if he was receiving so much help."

"Because it was a suicide, we were told by the authorities that they were required by law to do an autopsy and when we got the results, it turns out that dad's serotonin levels were extremely low for a person taking antidepressants. At first we thought that maybe he wasn't taking them, but the toxicology results proved that he was. So, with the help of some of my parents' friends, we gathered enough money to hire a lawyer and demand explanations from the pharmaceutical company that produced the antidepressants."

"We took them to court, and it turns out that a batch of the medication had been defective. My dad, amongst other thousands of people, were unlucky to get those particular boxes. Karen and I were given a settlement that allowed us to live comfortably while we studied. The both of us got full scholarships in our respective universities, so the money we were given helped us after we both got our degrees."

I look at her and know 100% why she is the way she is. Why she's so determined, so independent, so strong. "You want to make sure what happened to your dad doesn't happen to any else ever again."

She nods. "Exactly."

I stay in the same position, with Claire's head still on my shoulder and I digest everything. No one should have to live through such horrible things. I move gently and I sit by Claire's legs so I can look at her better.

"I am so proud of you. Of the person you are today. What happened to you was tragic, and so many people would've let that destroy them, but not you. You fought and you worked so hard to make sure you became someone. I didn't have the privilege to meet your parents, but without knowing them, I know for sure they would've been so proud of you. I admired you before and now I admire you even more. You should be extremely proud of yourself, Claire. Thank you for telling me this."

Tears run freely down her cheeks. She grabs the pillow I was using and holds it against her ribcage. "Thank you for listening."

"Of course." I go back to sitting next to her and I put my arm around her shoulders carefully. She rests her head on my shoulder again.

"What were your parents' names?"

"Catherine and Eric."

"I wasn't wrong then."

She raises her head and looks at me confused. "What do you mean?"

"Catherine and Eric are very royal names. You are definitely a princess."

She stares at me for a second and then rolls her eyes. "Shut up."

I laugh softly. I realise what Claire must've thought when I told her about my parents. I basically had a temper tantrum and didn't speak to them for 11 years. She lost both her parents in tragic ways and here I am deciding to ignore my parents for something, that really, was stupid. What she would give to have both of her parents with her right now.

I decide here and now to never again take my parents for granted. I am lucky to have them with me and I will make sure they know how much they mean to me.

I look down at her. "Hey. Are you hungry?"

"I am a little, actually. What time is it? I don't even know."

I pick up her cell phone and press the home button. "It's 4:37pm. Do you want to have a late lunch or maybe just a protein shake?"

"I think a protein shake sounds pretty tasty right now."

"Perfect. You stay here and I'll go make them." I remove my arm from around Claire's shoulders and stand up.

"Wait. Before you go, can you help me stand up? I've been lying down for too long I think, and I need to wash my face."

"Yeah, of course." I grab her above the elbows and pull her gently forward.

"Are you going to need some help? How are you going to wash your face? You can't bend forward."

She shrugs. "I don't know. I'll figure something out. Now go. I'll be fine."

"Okay, okay. Be right back."

I walk out of the pool house, walk across the yard and into the living room. I close the screen shut and I lean against it. I exhale. I never expected such horrible things to have happened to Claire. She's so strong. I don't think I could've learnt to live with that. I would have survived, mainly because of Isa, but man it would've be hard!

I shake off all those emotions for now and focus on the task. Make the protein shakes. I walk into the kitchen and there's no one there. Good, I could use a minute of just my thoughts. I will make it my task to make Claire as happy as I humanly can. She deserves all the happiness in the world and I will make it my goal in life to make sure that happens.

I pull out the two containers, caramel for Claire and chocolate for myself, and make the shakes. I have it ready in record time. I wash the blender and put it away. I grab a couple of straws and napkins and walk back to the pool house.

When I open the door, I see Claire standing next to the TV holding a picture frame and looking fondly at it. When she hears me come in, she turns towards me and a smiles.

"Is this you?", she says showing me the picture she's looking at.

I walk further into the small living room, until I'm standing next to her. I look down at the picture and smile. I hadn't even realised that was there.

"Yeah, that's me. I must've been 4 or 5 years old. Nonno Luca took me to the bakery and when he told me we would bake cookies, he unleashed the beast. I ate all the chocolate chip cookies and ended up throwing flour around."

In the picture, I'm covered head to toe in flour. When I was a kid, I had blond hair and freckles. I was wearing a white t-shirt and jeans overall. I'm a mess in that photo. "I was a bit hyperactive when I was a kid. Add sugar to that - it wasn't a very pleasant experience for anyone looking after me. Here."

I stretch out my arm and she takes her protein shake. She takes a sip and looks a little surprised. "This actually tastes better than I thought it would. I was expecting a more synthetic taste."

I take a sip of mine and swish it around my mouth a bit. I raise my eyebrows. "Not bad. So, what do you want to do now?"

She takes another sip. "I don't know. Do you have anything in mind?"

I hold the straw and move it in circles. "You want to go and meet the maids? They're super nice people."

She nods. "Yeah, I would like that."

"Okay. Let's go meet the girls."

I open the door for her and we walk to the kitchen. When we step into the living room, we run into Teresa, who is climbing down the stairs.

"Teresa, we were just about to go look for you. I wanted to introduce you. Teresa this is Claire. Claire, Teresa."

Teresa smiles. "It's very nice to meet you, Ms Dearing. We've been hearing a lot of great things about you."

"It's nice to meet you too, Teresa. You have? Have you been talking about me to everyone in the house, Owen?"

I take another sip of my shake. "Yes.", I say simply.

She shakes her head and rolls her eyes. She doesn't hide her smile. I introduce her to Patricia and Augusta and we talk to them for a bit. Mum and dad come back home about an hour later. We talk in the living room for a little bit and then they excuse themselves. Claire and I walk back to the pool house and decide to end our day by watching a movie. We go with a drama. We avoid comedies for now, since Claire can't laugh without her ribs causing her pain.

After the movie is over, we change into our pyjamas and go to sleep.

I feel like I could've done a better job in closing this chapter. I'll do better for the next one, I promise! We're approaching the end, guys! I'm not sure how many more chapters are left, but I'm guessing 2, maaaybe 3. So things are bound to get a little more interesting, I presume! See you next Saturday!


	22. Chapter 21

Sorry I'm a bit late today. I moved countries 3 weeks ago, and I'm busy with classes. I haven't been able to finish this chapter before today. I hope you enjoy it though! Let me know what you think!

Chapter 21:

"So, I'm curious. What were you and my parents talking about yesterday when I left to look for Augusta?" I ask as I brush my teeth. Claire is standing by the French doors looking at the yard.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she answers, mischief in her voice.

"Come on." – I spit the last bit of toothpaste out of my mouth – "I know you were talking about me."

I hear her steps coming closer to the bathroom. She appears on my line of sight and leans against the doorframe. "What makes you so sure we were talking about you?"

I turn to look at her. "Weren't you?"

She lifts an eyebrow. "No, you diva. We were not talking about you."

I lean backwards on the sink and cross my arms. "What were you talking about then?"

"Oh my God. Who knew? Owen Grady is a gossip!" She turns around and walks away. I push myself forward and follow her.

"I'm not a gossip. I'm just curious of what you and my parents were talking about. That's all."

Claire opens a drawer and starts looking through her clothes. "Fine! If you really want to know; after you left, your mother was telling me how pleased she was I had accepted the offer to stay here while I healed, then we talked a bit about Karen. After, your dad came home and we started talking about the whole frenzy with the media. That's it. Nothing juicy for you, honey." She looks over her shoulder and smiles at me.

I know she said it to mock me, but I quite liked that she called me honey. A witty response is about to escape my lips, when my phone rings. I walk the few steps to my bedside table and pick up my phone. I see nonna's name flashing on my screen. I answer the call.

"Ciao, nonna." I turn around to look at Claire. She's still rummaging through the drawer. I listen to nonna Francesca and start smiling. I nod. "Okay. Give me a second; let me ask her."

At that, Claire turns around and looks at me; she raises her eyebrows.

I keep my phone against my ear. "Nonna wants to know if you would like to go to the bakery today? Some time after lunch? She says they're baking panettone today."

Claire smiles and nods. "I would love to go."

I smile at her. "Nonna, she says – oh, you heard. Okay. See you later. Bye." I hang up and put the phone down. "You know, she truly likes you. She's never invited anyone to her kitchen before. Ever. Only Isabella and I, of course. She hasn't even met you. That's very impressive."

"Well, I don't know what you've been saying about me, but you've definitely made me look good." Claire walks to me and puckers up her lips. I lean forward a give her a peck on the lips.

"What do you have there?"

She raises her hand and shakes, what I realise now, is her bikini at me. "It's a beautiful day today and my back is hurting a bit, so I thought maybe we could get in the pool today? Do you feel like it?"

I look at her bikini probably for a second too long, and then I lift my gaze to her. "Do I feel like getting in the pool with you wearing _that_?" I say nodding to the bikini. "Yes. Yes, I feel like it."

She smacks me on the arm with her bikini. "I really don't think you're going to feel like that once you see the ugly bruising, the stitches and the burn. All at once."

I can see the insecurity in Claire's face, so I make sure she knows I don't care.

"Just so you know, the bruising, the stitches _and_ the burn only make you look hotter in my eyes. Those are your battle wounds. Those wounds that are healing, means you survived. You're a badass woman, Claire Dearing. Now go on put that bikini; I'll put my swim shorts on and we will get in that pool!"

She gives me that look again, like she's talking to a 5 year old. "Hold your horses, buddy. Before we get anywhere near that pool, first I need you to help me change the bandages to the waterproof ones."

Right. I walk to the coffee table and pick up the plastic bag with the bandages. She shakes her head and walks to the bathroom to change.

I throw the bag on top of the bed and open the drawer to look for my swim shorts. I find 2; a navy blue one and an orange one with bright blue flowers; very Hawaiian looking. I don't even remember where I got it, but it's hideous. I consider wearing them, just to see Claire's face, but I decide against them. I change into the navy blue shorts and sit on the bed. I take my shirt off and put sunblock on. I don't put my shirt back on.

"Owen?" I hear Claire calling from the bathroom.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I just – I can't tie off the top part of the bikini. I can't raise my arms."

Oh. I raise an eyebrow. "You need some help?"

"Stop it."

I frown. "What? I just offered to help!" I chuckle. She totally knows what I was thinking.

"You know exactly what you thought. Now come in here and help me!"

I laugh. I stand up from the bed and open the bathroom door. I poke my head in and see Claire holding the top part of her bikini with her left hand against her chest.

"I didn't think this through." She says looking at me through the reflection of the mirror.

I step inside the bathroom and walk to stand behind Claire. I look at her body and then at her face. "You're absolutely stunning."

She looks at me thorough the mirror for a second, then she turns and lifts her head a bit so she's looking right at me. "You're pretty stunning too."

I lean forward to close the small space between us, but she pulls back. "First tie up the bikini, Owen; 'cause if you don't, I'm afraid we'll end up in a very precarious position."

I swallow hard. She has broken ribs. She had broken ribs. She has broken ribs. That's what I remind myself of, as I take the straps from her and tie a knot behind her neck. What I would give right now to pick her up and make love to her. (She has broken ribs!)

I tie a double knot and put my hands down by my side. "Is that too tight?"

She shakes her head. "No. It's perfect. Thanks."

We look at each other. We both want the same thing, but unfortunately, we won't have it today. Or in the next couple of months.

Damn you, David Castell!

She takes my hand and guides me out of the bathroom and into the bedroom. I'm brought out of my dream like state by the strong rays of sun that are coming in through the French doors. It _is_ a beautiful day.

I sit down on the bed and open the plastic bag with all the bandages. I look up at Claire. "Burn first?"

"Okay." I disinfect my hands with hand sanitizer and I pull out the waterproof sleeve for the burn. I read the instructions on the package.

"Oh, we don't have to touch the bandages at all. You just need the sleeve to cover all the section of your arm that is covered by bandages. Arm, please."

She stretches out her left arm and I open the package and pull out the sleeve. It's a silicon-type material, but not exactly. It stretches easily and it's very thin. I put it through Claire's arm and let go of it gently, making sure it's covering all that has to cover. There are 2 pieces of tape that have to be pasted around each end of the sleeve to prevent any water from going in.

I run my forefinger across the tape to make sure it won't come off and I look up at her. "How does that feel?"

She looks at it, moves her arm around a bit and smiles at me. "Not bad. Now stitches."

I nod and open the plastic bag again looking for the bandages to cover the stitches. I pull out a bigger package and read the instructions. "To cover up this one, I will need to pull out the bandages that are already there."

She groans. "I haven't even seen that one. Every time the nurses changed the bandages, I just laid there quietly looking at the ceiling. I don't even know how many stitches I got."

"I don't either. Is it big? I can't really tell from the bandages."

She runs her fingers along the bandages and grimaces. "I think it is. After all, they had to stitch up my lung. I don't think it's small. I'm going to have 2 horrible scars for the rest of my life."

She whines a little. Can't blame her. She's going to have 2 reminders of what happened to her.

"Come on, you don't know that. Maybe you're like Wolverine and you'll heal up to the point that you won't even see anything. Come on, get a little closer so I can change the bandages."

She looks down at me and smiles a little. She moves to stand sideways in between my legs. From this distance I can really see Claire's injuries from up close. The bruising is quite impressive, and not in a good way. The whole right side of her torso is an angry purple and the bandage covering her stitches is a big one; at least 5 inches long.

"Ready?"

She nods. I start pulling off the tape holding the bandages in place, one by one, until I get to the gauze. There's a lot of it. Once I take off the last bit of tape, the whole bundle of gauze falls off. I catch it as soon as it leaves Claire's body. There's some blood on it, but not too much. I look at the cut then.

The first thing I notice is the stitches. I look at each one of them. 12. 12 stitches she has on her side. I can see the clear incision the doctors made to close up her lung. A perfect straight line. I look up to see Claire looking anywhere but me. I start working with the bandages. I don't want her to think I'm grossed out by it or anything stupid like that.

"Have I ever told you about the time I got peritonitis?"

That got her attention. She looks down at me and frowns. "You got peritonitis? Owen, that's very serious."

"I know, but you'll end up laughing by time I finish telling you how I reached that life threatening point."

I proceed to tell her the story of how I ended up in the ICU when I was 11 years old. I tell her that I really was the actor when I was a kid. I created all of these excuses not to go to school and I would play them out masterfully.

One day, after convincing mum that I had a stomach bug, she told me to stay in bed and rest. She left for work that day and I started my day of fun. I would watch tv, eat sweets, play around and just enjoyed my day off of school. Turns out, that I had really convinced her, to the point that she had left work early to be with me. Of course she came home right at the moment that I was running like a mad man around the yard with a bag of cookies in hand. She was _pissed._ And I mean _really_ pissed. I think that was the first time in my 11 years of life that I had seen my mum that mad. Now, you have to remember that I did this a lot. Of course I would make sure I didn't do it _too_ often, just in case she got wind of what I was doing. She clearly realised this, so she yelled at me some more and grounded me for like a month.

Two months later, I woke up with a horrible stomach ache. The pain was so bad, it was actually kind of hard to breathe properly. I stood up and went down to the dining room and told both my parents that I wasn't feeling well. Neither of them believed me obviously. That's when I realised I must've been a really convincing actor.

I went to school and I couldn't even think properly from the pain. Mum picked me up from school that day, by that point I couldn't even stand up straight. The pain was ridiculous! When I got into the car, she didn't say anything. She looked up at me for a second and then put her hand on my forehead. I had closed my eyes, but I remember opening them when I felt mum's hand on my forehead, and I remember very clearly seeing her eyes widen.

From that point on, everything is a blur. I remember mum driving quite desperately. Telling me she was so sorry that she hadn't believed me. Promising me that I would be okay. I remember a pair of arms lifting me up and lying me down on a gurney. I'm not quite sure, but I think I passed out at some point.

Turns out I had appendicitis, and throughout that day at school, it got bad enough that at some point during the car ride to the hospital, my appendix burst. The doctors said that in a way, I had been lucky. It burst when we were practically in the hospital and because of my age, my body was actually quite good at preventing the infection from expanding anywhere. I was in the ICU for 5 days. I got a fever at day 2, which was scary for everyone, because it was obviously not a good sign. But I got better and a week later I was home.

"This is how I got this." I say pointing to the scar on my right side. Right on top of my hipbone, I have a long, pinky finger wide scar. I see Claire's eyes travel to where I'm pointing. Her head tilts to the side, like that of a curious child.

"I hadn't realised you had that scar."

"Of course you didn't. You were distracted by my killer bod."

She rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever you say."

I continue. "So, from that day on, I never missed a day in school. I was the kid who cried wolf. I learnt my lesson."

She shakes her head and laughs a little. "Moron."

"Yeah, I was. Well, all done here. Now let's get into the pool!" I stand up and grab a couple of towels. I take her hand and we walk to the pool through the French doors. The pool looks cool and inviting. I let go of Claire's hand and stick my foot in the pool to test the temperature of the water.

"I think it's perfect. I guess it'll be cold at first, but the sun will keep warming things up for us." I take my foot of the water and throw the towels on the pool chairs. The pool has steps all the way down to the bottom of it and a rail, so Claire won't really need my help to get into the pool. I ask her nonetheless.

"Are you going to need help getting in the pool?"

"I don't think so. Let's see I guess." She walks to the edge of the pool and lowers herself a step.

"Ah! It's cold!"

I smile. "Of course it is. Your body temperature is higher than that of the water. You'll get used to it once you're all the way in. Now keep walking."

"Okay, Mr Know it all. Why don't you get in? You're just looking at me, keeping yourself warm and everything."

I look at her and then to the other side of the pool. I start walking to the other end of the pool, take 4 steps back and run. I dive in like I'm a lifeguard in a Hollywood movie. The pool is not extremely long and I jumped far enough for me to be able to swim underwater all the way to the steps. I come back up and do and exaggerated version of Justin Bieber's hair whip to take the extra water of my hair.

"You were saying?"

Right there, her characteristic deadpan look. "Show off." She continues to come down the steps until she's standing right in front of me. The water reaches us up to our shoulders. "Oh. Yolanda was right. The water does feel nice against my ribs." She closes her eyes and enjoys for a moment the relief the water gives her.

"Do you feel like there's any water coming in through your sleeve or the bandages?" I ask.

She opens her eyes. "No, I don't think so. It all feels dry. Good job, Dr Grady."

I give her a small kiss. "Ready to start walking?"

She nods. I move to stand next to her and we start walking. When we reach the end of the pool, I look at her and see a small grimace on her face. "Are you in pain?"

"I think I'm walking a little too fast. My ribs hurt somewhat."

"Okay, let's slow down then. You want a minute?"

She shakes her head; determination shining through her. "No, let's keep going."

As we start walking, I remember that we are Thursday, which means Karen and the kids are coming tomorrow. "Hey, has Karen written to you? She's supposed to come tomorrow with the kids."

"Oh, yeah. I forgot to tell you. She emailed me last night. She said she was sending us both an email today with all her flight information. She also said that we have a lot to talk about. The lawyers and her have been talking a lot and she says things are moving along nicely. Which reminds me - " She lays her hand on my forearm and we stop about a meter from the steps. "Karen told me you were paying for the lawyers. You don't have to do that. I can pay for the lawyers myself."

I shake my head. "No. I want you to focus on getting better. I know you, if you pay those lawyers, you're going to be constantly talking to them, discussing things, thinking about the accident again. That's going to generate extra stress that you don't need right now. I know that you're more than capable of paying them yourself, but I'm just thinking long term here. Please, at least think about it. Please?"

I can see her thinking. Analysing what I've said. "Compromise?"

"What are you thinking?"

"Let me pay half of it."

Now it's my turn to roll my eyes. "How's that different?"

"I wasn't finished. I want to pay half of it to _you_. You pay the lawyers the full amount, I'll stay away from them and I'll trust in you and Karen to update me of anything of importance. I checked, Owen. Those lawyers charge $350 the _hour_. Karen has been talking to them the whole week! I can't let you spend that much money, especially because I can pay for it. Please, let me do this. 50/50. I think it's fair."

I look at her. "Would that make you feel better?"

"Yes, it would."

I breathe out. "Fine, you can pay me half of it."

She smiles victoriously. We continue walking. About 2 hours later, we decide to stop. It's close to lunchtime anyway. We climb up the steps and I see that none of Claire's bandages came off. I nod to myself proudly. We walk to the room and I tell her to shower first, but she says she will take longer than me and that I should go first.

I go in and take a quick shower, so she doesn't have to wait long. When I come out of the bathroom, I hear the television and I walk to the small living room to let her know she can go in now. I see Claire standing in front of the tv, but looking away from it. I see shock in her face and the shine of tears in her eyes.

"Claire?" I walk into the living room and see what Claire saw. I see the car of David Castell hitting the taxi Claire was in. The crash was so brutal, I actually take a step back when the car hits the taxi. I see the taxi driver come out of the car stumbling and falling, to continue crawling away from the car. I see a man running towards Claire's side of the car and struggling to open the car door (that must be Dr Fukunaga). The door is completely smashed in. After maybe a minute, he, by some miracle, manages to open the door and pulls Claire out of the car quickly, but delicately. I see the car catch fire. I see the fire igniting, following the trail of gasoline, until it reaches Claire's sleeve. Dr Fukunaga realises that Claire's sleeve has caught fire, but he continues to drag her away from the car. I'm assuming he wants to get as far away from it, in case it exploded. He stops and suffocates the fire. Then, he starts rolling Claire from side to side. I can't tell why he's doing that, until he stops for a second to push something out of his way.

That's when I see the way Claire is breathing; like she had hiccups. I remember then my days in the navy; when I was on a mission and a bomb went off. One of the guys went down, and the doctor ran towards him to check him. He found a hole diagonally from his belly button, somewhere around the left side of his chest. He started rolling him to keep blood from filling his lung. To stop him from drowning in his own blood. That's what Dr Fukunaga was doing to Claire.

I walk numbly to the coffee table and grab the control remote and turn off the tv. "Claire?"

"Had you seen that before?" She asks, still looking away from the tv.

"No. I heard there was CCTV footage, but I didn't see it."

She raises her eyes slowly towards me. A tear slides down her cheek. "How the hell did I survive that?"

I step closer to her and hug her gently, minding her ribs. I feel her left arm come around me. "I don't care how you survived that. All I care is that you did. You're so much stronger than you think, Claire. We're going to make sure that son of a bitch never sees the light of day again. I promise you that. Hey - "

I pull back and hold both sides of her face. "That – " I point at the tv. "That's part of the past. Don't think about it anymore. Look forward, lean on the people who love you and are always going to _be_ here for you. I don't want you focusing your energy on something that already passed. I want you to focus on getting better, okay?"

A few more tears come running down her cheeks, but she nods. "I will. I promise."

"I love you."

"I love you too." She presses her head on my chest and I hug her one more time.

She pulls away and walks to the bathroom to take a shower. Seeing that footage only makes my hatred for that man grow even more. I wish I had him in front of me so I could punch him again. I walk to my night table and pick my cell phone up and text Karen.

*Claire and I accidently saw the CCTV footage of the accident. We have to make sure that piece of shit forgets what the word freedom means. *

*Damn it! Zach and I saw it last week accidently too. Thank God, Gray wasn't in the room. Don't worry, it's all ready to go. There's no way he's getting out of this. We'll talk more tomorrow. Just send you guys the email. *

*Okay. See you and the kids tomorrow. *

*See ya! *

I open my laptop and check my email. I open Karen's email and read it. She says her and the kids are going to be landing at 10am tomorrow. She also mentions that Claire has to sign a couple of documents so we can start the process of putting that asshole in jail.

I hear the bathroom door open and I look up. Claire comes out of the bathroom in her robe and sits down on her side of the bed next to me.

"How do you feel?"

"I'm still a little upset by what I saw, but you're right. That already passed; I shouldn't be focusing on that."

I smile softly at her. "Good. Now, get dressed and let's have some lunch, 'cause I'm starving."

"When are you not?" She stands up, grabs some clothes and goes back into the bathroom to change.

I put on a shirt, close the laptop and wait for her to be ready. I don't know how the hell she manages to have her hair perfectly done, when she can't raise her arms. But she comes out of that bathroom looking as perfect as ever. I stand up, I offer her my arm and we walk to the dinning room.

When we walk through the doors, we can hear Isabella laughing hysterically. Claire and I look at each other and we walk until we reach the table. Isabella is almost falling of the chair laughing at something on her laptop.

"What are you laughing at?" I ask her, laughing a little too.

She turns to look at me and laughs even harder, if that's possible. "What?" I ask her.

She manages to regain some composure and turns her laptop towards us. Claire laughs and winces, her hand flying to her side. She sits down carefully on the chair and continues laughing. Claire and Isabella look at each other and laugh more.

I am _not_ laughing though. It's a paparazzi picture that we're looking at. In it, Claire and I are in the car heading home after her release from the hospital. She's looking at me, her eyebrow raised minimally, but there's this look she has, almost as if she was daring me. I, on the other hand, am basically drooling. I mean, I look borderline special needs.

"I don't think that's funny at all! Everyone is going to see that picture!"

Claire is trying to contain her laughter, but she's failing epically. "I told you I would get you back!"

My eyes widen. "What?!"

"Oh my God, you planned this?!" Isabella asks Claire.

Claire nods.

"Oh God, I knew I loved you!"

They continue laughing. "What do you mean you planned this?! Claire, stop laughing!"

Claire covers her mouth and starts breathing in and out slowly. "Remember how you kissed me in front of all those paparazzi?"

"Yeah."

"Didn't I tell you something along the lines of : 'I know exactly how I'm going to get you back?'"

"I remember."

"This is what I meant!" She says pointing at the picture. Isabella bursts out laughing again.

"I can't believe this!" And I thought she meant… gaaaah!

I sit down next to Claire and wait until they stop. I don't even know how Claire is laughing this much without her ribs hurting. After about 10 minutes, their laughter dies down. I have crossed my arms and stared at them.

"You both done laughing at me?" I ask like a sore loser.

Claire nods and Isabella responds with a 'yup'.

"Oh, Claire that was genius. Just perfect." Isabella tells her.

"Thank you. I will take pride in that for the rest of my life."

I turn my head and stare at Claire. "Just so you know, I don't appreciate what you did."

"And I don't appreciate you surprising me with kisses in front of the paparazzis."

"Oh yeah. That's why I clicked on the link in the first place." Says Isabella moving the laptop in front of her and scrolling up. "There." She turns the laptop towards us again.

There are at least 10 pictures of us of that day. The first is of Claire and I leaving the parking lot of the hospital, then like 4 pictures of us driving through the crazy crowd and the last 3 pictures are the ones of Claire and I just looking at each other with so much love, my breath catches in my throat a little. Then there's the one were I kissed her. Unlike the one I took on the car on our way to Phil's restaurant, Claire does look very much surprised.

"See, I look like an idiot in that photo too. There, we're even." She says.

"Ah, no. You don't look like an idiot, you just look surprised, whereas in this photo –" I scroll down to the last photo where I look stupid. "I look like a drooling catatonic!"

Isabella and Claire resume their laughing session. I close the laptop and push it away from them, just in case they're tempted to look again.

We are served our lunch, quinoa quiche with poulet à la moutarde. Which is just French for chicken with mustard sauce. It was delicious though.

"Isa, are you going to be heading out today?"

"No. I'm going to be staying home practicing with my guitar. I was planning on going to the bakery later in the afternoon though. Today is panettone day. I always go and see if I can steal some. Why?"

"Nonna, invited Claire and I to go to the bakery in about an hour. I wanted to know if you needed your car."

She looks surprised at Claire. "Wow, she invited you to her kitchen? You've officially won her over then, Claire. Take my car, no problem."

"That's what I told her."

"That's what he told me." Claire says.

"Well, sis. See you later then."

"See you guys. I'll kill you both if you eat all the panettones!"

"Then don't get there too late!"

I help Claire stand up and we walk to the pool house to brush our teeth. We go to the driveway and head to the bakery.

"Karen already sent us the email. She's going to be here tomorrow at 10am with the kids. I'll go pick her up. She also said we had a couple of things to talk about and documents for you to sign."

"Okay. I'm glad she's coming. I've missed her and the kids. I was so stupid to push them away like that. I lost so much precious time. I was so stupid."

I look at her briefly and look back at the road. "What matters is that you're willing to try again. And you won't lose any more time with them. You're stubborn, if you say you don't want to waste more time, then you won't."

She nods. "Yeah, I won't lose more time. They're the only family I've got left. Did I tell you that both of my parents were only kids?"

"Really? That's unusual. When were they born?"

"Early 50s."

"Mm. That's weird. Especially if it was the 50s. Couples used to have kids like crazy."

"Yeah, that's why Karen and I were so close as kids. We didn't have cousins, aunts or uncles to get close to. That's also why we felt how we felt when they both died. We only had each other really. Then Karen met Scott in university, they were really happy, until they weren't. And then Patrick and I, that also went to hell fast… or not that fast actually."

She says that more like an afterthought.

"Well, you definitely don't have to worry about us. I'm in it for the long haul, babe."

She turns and smiles at me. "I know. Me too."

I look at her sideways. She's perfect. Forever is the least amount of time I want to spend with her. I turn left on the next light, and there it is. Panificio Vernelli occupies at least half a block. I haven't been here in years! God, it feels good.

I park the car on the blue zone and turn off the car.

"It's a lot bigger than I thought it would be." Claire says.

"Yeah, since it's the only one in the country a lot of people come in. About 15 years ago they had to buy the 2 businesses next to them in order to expand. The kitchen's at the back Thursdays the bakery's closed. They have stuff meetings and a bit of R&D goes on too. It's also the day they make panettones for the local shelter. Ready?"

She nods. I unlock the doors and go to open mine, but Claire stops me.

"Wait. Is there anything I need to know about your grandmother?"

I look to the side and back at her. "What do you mean?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. Is there a political party she hates and can't stand someone talking about them? That kind of thing…"

I smile. "Claire, she's an 88 year old Italian woman. The only things that will insult her, is if you refuse to eat whatever she gives you. So, no. There's nothing you can't say around her. She's the coolest nonna ever. Now come on, let's go!"

I get out of the car and walk around the car to open Claire's door. She stands on the step and I lower her to the ground. We walk to the main door, I go to open it, but it's locked. "Well, the bakery is closed. But I need an access code to get in through the back door. You know what? Just let me call her." I pull out my cell phone and dial nonna.

"Nonna, we're here but we can't go in through the main door. Should we walk around to the back door?"

"Yeah, that would be great. Okay. Bye." I hang up and put the phone back in my pocket. "She says they're still in a meeting, but that she'll send someone to open the door for us and we can look around until they're done. They won't be long though."

"That's nice. My own personal tour of the facilities? I'm not complaining."

We stand for about a minute outside the bakery, when the door is opened. I see the big pregnant belly of a woman before I even see her face. "Well, nice of ya to show your bloody face around here, you big git!"

"Wh-" I'm about to ask this woman why she's insulting me, but then I see her face.

"Anna?! Oh my God! What the hell are you doing here?! And pregnant!"

"First at least give me a hug, before bombarding me with questions. That is, if you can even manage to hug me. I'm huge!"

I step forward and hug Anna. She's my childhood friend, we went to the same school for a little bit, but then her family went back to Ireland (she's Irish). We kept in touch, she even came with her family from time to time, but then she stopped coming at all. We lost touch and reunited one last time, when she went to New York to do a semester in the Institute of Culinary Education. I haven't seen her since. 13 years since the last time I saw her.

"You're working here?! Why didn't you tell me? I would've come and see you. And since when are you here?"

She raises her hands. "Where the hell are your manners, bloke? Hello there, I'm Anna." She stretches out her hand to Claire, and she shakes it.

"Oh, sorry. Claire, this is Anna. She's a childhood friend. I haven't seen her in almost 13 years." I noticed Anna stretched out her left hand. I'm absolutely sure she's right handed. She must've noticed Claire's cast. She's that kind of person.

"Oh, wow. Nice to meet you, Anna. Congratulations!" Claire says pointing at her belly.

Anna puts both of her hands on her belly and drums her fingers. "Thanks. I have 2 more months of this crap. Being pregnant is bloody torture, especially if you are in this business and have to be standing all day long. Well, come on in! Let's start with the tour. And yes sham, I'll answer all of your questions."

We step into the bakery after Anna.

"Sham?" Claire asks near my ear.

"Irish slang for friend."

"Oh."

"So, start talking. How did that happen? Don't tell me you broke my little 12 year old heart for nothing." I say pointing to her distended stomach.

"Yes, Owen. When you told me you liked me, I told you I was a lesbian because I couldn't think of any other way of telling you that I didn't like you like that. Don't be daft! I met someone about 3 years ago, and when marriage became legal in Ireland, we got married. We decided to have a kid, we tossed a coin, and I lost. Her name is Helena and she's an absolute fleek."

"Fleek?" Claire asks Anna.

"Yeah, what is that?" I ask Anna too. No clue what that means.

"Gorgeous girl. She's a gorgeous girl. Smart too."

"When did you move here?"

"About a year ago. Helena and I decided to move to the US, experience new things, you know? I sent out my resume to several companies including this one, turns out Fran recognized my name, she remembered my love for baking, how I used to ask her questions about this and that, and she decided to give me a chance. So here I am."

I smile. It's never been hard to go back to the way we were when we were kids when I talk to Anna. She has a magic of her own. She's one of the coolest chicks I've ever met in my life. A true friend.

"Do you have any more questions for me?" she asks playfully.

"Just one. Boy or girl?"

"Boy."

I laugh. "Good luck."

"Ugh, shut up."

We go and get to know the bakery. Anna shows us around. She tells us the demand for packaged goods has grown exponentially in the last 6 months, so mum decided to upgrade all the machinery to make sure they keep up. We go to the fridge, which is humongous! There are all types of ingredients in there, milk, cheese, chocolates. It's like being inside Willy Wonka's factory. I look at Claire and see the wonder in her eyes. She loves business; she's in her haven. We continue walking towards the 'torta' section (cake section). There is a group of 6 people working on a specialty cake. "Star Wars cake for a 7 year old kid's birthday." Anna tells us. That BB-8 cake looks so real, I wouldn't know to eat it if I saw it.

"And this is my section. 'Cioccolato' section."

"You became a chocolatier?"

She turns around and looks at me. "No. I became a chocolatière. Small difference."

I roll my eyes. "Same thing!"

She looks at Claire. "Claire, do you speak French?"

"Un peu, mais je ne parle pas couramment."

"Pas important. Est-ce-que tu peux dire ton petit ami le difference entre chocolatier et chocolatière, s'il tu plait?"

"Bien sûr." She turns to me. "There's a difference, Owen. If you were a policeman, it wouldn't be correct to call you a policewoman, because you are male. So don't call Anna a chocolatier. Got it?"

I breathe in slowly. "You speak French too?"

"Like I said to Anna, a little bit, I'm not fluent."

I look at both Anna and Claire. "You two are going to team up against me, aren't you?"

Anna and Claire look at each other and then at me. "Probably." They say at the same time.

"Jesus." I secretly love this. One of my dearest friend and my girlfriend are getting along super well. I couldn't be happier.

Anna gives us some chocolate samples she's been working on. While she was on the cash register, filling in while the cashier got there, she discovered, by eavesdropping, that there was a potential market with bach flowers. Extract of this flower with a 50% mix of brandy, is used by homeopaths, they believe this flower has healing properties.

Turns out, a lot of this people like buying desserts at nonna's bakery. Anna told nonna of her idea and they both went to talk to my mum and they decided to give it a go. Mum told Anna to make a small badge of it and see how it would sell. It was a huge hit. They even made a special section of it in the store. Anna is now trying different extracts and seeing how the flavours are absorbed by the chocolate and all of that.

"I don't know if I believe in the whole 'healing powers' thing, but this is good chocolate. Really nice flavours." Claire tells Anna.

"Thanks. I actually talked to a naturopath, the experts when it comes to these flowers. Emilia thought it would be a good idea for me to talk to one of them. She didn't want any problems with the homeopathic community, so she wanted to make sure we were respecting the process. Turned out pretty good. Over h- Oh, sorry." She picks up her phone and answers. "Hello? Yeah, we're almost done. I'll take them to the offices. Okay." She hangs up. "The meeting's over. Fran says to finish showing you around and to take you two to the other kitchen."

"There's another kitchen? The one we were just in is huge!" I say.

"That's the new kitchen. The one your grandmother is in right now, is the old one. There we do the 'smaller things'. Cookies for the store, any small orders, that kind of thing. And on Thursdays, we all help to make the panettones for the shelter. Your grandmother is adamant every single person help, plus she says that no one working in her bakery is not _not_ going to know how to make a panettone."

We laugh and Anna takes us to the last leg of our tour. She takes us to the offices. "This is my favourite place right now. See those couches? Those are the most comfortable couches I've ever sat on, and I'm pregnant so that's saying something."

We sit on those couches and I swear, I could've fallen asleep right here, right now. We talk for a little bit more and then we walk to the kitchen. I see nonna kneading the dough and adding the candied fruit. The love for baking comes out of her in massive waves, and everyone around her has that same smile.

"Nonna!" I call her. She raises her head and her smiles widens.

"Amore! Give your nonna a hug!" She cleans her hands on her apron and envelops me in a hug.

I pull out of the hug. "I have a bone to pick with you, nonna. Why didn't you tell me Anna was working here?"

"Ah. I thought it would be a nice surprise. I knew you would come home at some point."

"Well, it was a very nice surprise." I turn and stretch out my hand towards Claire. She takes my hand and walks until she's standing next to me.

"Nonna, this is Claire. Claire, Francesca."

"It's very nice to meet you, Mrs Vernelli."

Nonna claps her hands together. "It's very nice to meet _you_ , Claire. I see you look good. You gave my grandson here the fright of his life! I must say you don't trigger that reaction on anyone unless you're special to them. And if you're special to him, you're special to me! And please, call me Fran. Nobody calls me Mrs Vernelli unless they want my money!" We laugh and I can see Claire relax.

"Well, Owen get ready to get your hands dirty. You're making a panettone today. Jacob, bring another piece of dough!"

"Yes, ma'am." A boy that can't be more than 18 years old, runs to the back and brings with him a bowl filled with dough that has already been risen.

"Nonna, I haven't made panetonne in years! I don't even think I remember how to make one anymore!"

I told Claire before that nothing could offend my grandmother. Apparently, I was wrong. Her face transforms when I tell her I don't think I remember how to make panetonne.

She walks closer to me and smacks me on the arm with a hand towel that I have no clue where she got from.

"Ow! Why?!" I say holding my arm.

"Your nonno taught you how to make panettone and you made hundreds of them. Don't tell me you don't know how to make one anymore. Go. Make your favourite one, all you need is right over there."

I hold Claire's hand and walk to the empty station with the bowl of dough in hand. I look at her and see she's containing a smile. "Again?! You're going to laugh at me again?! Wasn't the whole situation with the photo enough?!"

She stops trying to contain her laugh. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry. Turns out you were right, there was nothing for me to worry about. Your grandmother is very, very nice. Now, make that panettone before she comes back and smacks you again."

I put the bowl down on the table and grab a chair for Claire, one of those tall ones and I put it on the other side of the table, so she's right in front of me.

"Have you ever eaten panettone before, Claire?" Nonna asks her from 2 tables over.

"I've had it once. I think it was the traditional one. With candied fruits."

"Did you like it?"

"I did, but back then I was counting every single calorie that went inside me, so I only had a small piece. So I don't think I got the full experience."

I throw some flour on the table and turn the bowl upside down. The dough lands with a thud on the table.

"Owen makes really good panettones. You'll have a proper slice, when it's done. You'll feel like you've missed out. It's something quite wonderful; almost impossible to describe."

"Other than it tasted really good, I remember being very fascinated by the fact that it dissolved in my mouth."

"Yes, that's because of the 2 day rise. It does wonders to the dough."

I start kneading the dough. I don't talk at all. Claire and nonna talk and talk, getting to know each other. Nonna Francesca asks her the basic questions; where she's from, where did she go to school. Then they start talking about business. Even though nonna's true love was and will always be baking, she has a secret affair with business every once in a while. She knows her terminology too. Nonna even asks Claire for some advice to convince their box supplier to donate some boxes so they can package all the panettones and ship them to the shelter without cost.

By the time Claire remembers I'm here, I'm already putting the dough on the special panettone tin.

"You all done?" she asks.

"Yeah, I didn't come prepared for back breaking work. I'm sweating."

She smiles. "I'm sure your panettone will be delicious."

I raise an eyebrow. "Are you seducing me, Claire?"

She rolls her eyes, and the people working around us chuckle. Claire blushes a little. "Really? You just say whatever comes to your mind, you don't care where you are or with whom?"

"Why are you even asking me that question? You already know the answer."

"Ugh, yes I do. And I still love you. What the hell is wrong with me?"

I walk around the table and stand next to her. "Oh, nothing. Trust me. There's nothing wrong with you." I lean forward and give her a peck. "Let me pop that bad boy in the oven."

She nods and I take the tin and put it in the oven next to the other 30 panettones. It usually takes about an hour for the panettones to cook. In that time, everyone in the kitchen serves themselves some tea or coffee and eat cookies. We all clean our tables before doing that of course.

"I thought you said you could barely remember how to make panettones. You finished at the same time as everyone else, and you started after them." Nonna says while I'm cleaning my table.

"Okay, okay. Apparently, it's like riding a bike. I haven't forgotten at all how to make panettone. I really enjoyed that though; like the old times." I say hugging nonna sideways.

"I told you. Maybe we can teach you Claire how make some, once you get better."

She smiles. "You can try. I'm not very good in the kitchen. Never have been, actually."

"Oh, come on. You're a smart woman, I'm sure you can follow a recipe."

"Yeah, I thought that too. I tried baking Betty Crocker cookies and I ended up with pieces of charcoal and scrambling around trying to turn off the smoke alarm. But, I can give it a go."

We both stare at her. Who the hell burns pre-made cookies?

"Maybe you can teach her at home, Amore. I don't think I want my business to burn down to the ground."

"Yeah, you're probably right."

Claire looks a bit offended, but she knows we're joking. She laughs. We sit down and have some tea with cookies and we talk some more. It feels incredibly comfortable to talk like this for some reason; with the smell of the nearly done panettones and a cup of warm tea.

"You're favourite panettone eater has arrived!" Isabella announces to the whole kitchen. She walks around saying hi to everyone. She takes a peek at the ovens and smiles. Then she comes towards us and hugs us all.

"How did it go, bro? Did you manage to make something decent?"

"Yeah, I did pretty good, fyi!"

She raises her hands. "Hey, you never know!"

Isabella tells us she's mastered the guitar chords for the song she's going to sing with Alexander at the Youth Centre. I ask her about the song she's going to sing by herself and she tells me, she's brought it down to 3 options. She's not quite sure which one yet.

"Isabella has promised me she's going to sing whichever song she picks for the presentation in 1 week." I tell Claire.

"You are? Are you also going to play it on the guitar?"

Isa shakes her head. "No, the song I sing by myself I'm going to play it in the piano."

"I always wanted to play the piano, but I never had the time to learn. I love the sound that it produces, that and the cello. Absolutely love it."

We hear the ding of the oven. We stand up and proceed to put the tins up side down, and let gravity do its work. Once the panettones drop, we package all of them and load everything into the truck, so it's taken to the shelter. All except one, of course. I bring my panettone to the table and start cutting slices for everyone. I give Claire the biggest piece and she smiles at me. She rips a small piece and pops it into her mouth. Her eyes close immediately.

"Oh my God, Owen. This is so much better than I expected it to be!"

"Thanks, I di- What?! What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means, bro. You don't exactly look like the kind of guy who can bake anything good."

I look at Isabella. "Gee, thanks."

"Hey, it's really good though!" Isa says taking a bite out of her slice.

"It is, amore. Congratulations!"

We stay there until all the staff has finished eating their piece. I receive congratulations from everyone on my good job. Before, we leave, I exchange contact info with Anna and ask her to come and have lunch someday and to bring Helena, so we can meet her; she agrees. We say our goodbyes and Claire, Isabella and I head home.


	23. Chapter 22

This took forever again. I'm sorry! But this is the time I'll be posting things now, unless I get a free moment and I somehow write something before Saturday. I know I said next week's chapter was going to be the last one, but I was wrong! There's going to be 2 more chapters and an epilogue (obviously). So I'm not going to say goodbye yet! But I feel the melancholy coming. I hope you enjoy this chapter! See you next Saturday! 3

22

"Aunt Claire!" Gray says as soon as he sees Claire.

"Uh, uh! What did I tell you in the car, Gray?!" Karen hand shoots out to grab Gray by the shoulder before he bear hugs Claire. "She has broken. No bear hugs."

"Right. Sorry. Aunt Claire." He walks slowly up to Claire and hugs her as if she would shatter if he hugged her too strongly. He still bear hugs her, but very gently.

Claire laughs. "Hello, sweetheart. I've missed you."

"I've missed you too. Are you okay now? You scared me." He lets go of her and looks at Claire with those big blue eyes he has. Such a sweet kid.

Claire melts when she looks down at him. She caresses his cheek. "I'm healing. You don't have to worry about me. Okay?"

He nods and smiles. "Okay."

Claire looks up and sees Zach standing next to Karen. Zach takes a step forward.

"First a dinosaur and now this? Is your life not interesting enough?"

"Trust me, I would love for my life to be a little less interesting."

He smiles and walks the few steps to Claire and hugs her. "I'm glad you're okay."

"I'm getting there. My ribs are still bent in torturing me, though." She rubs Zach's back.

Zach pulls back and smiles at Claire.

"Doesn't your sister get a little love too?" Karen says walking towards Claire.

Claire rolls her eyes. "Yeah, yeah." She smiles and hugs Karen.

"How was your flight?"

"Uneventful. Thank God." Karen pulls back. "We have a lot to talk about."

Claire nods. "I can imagine."

I step forward and clap my hands together. "Okay kids. Let me show you your rooms. Come on."

Gray nods enthusiastically and Zach just nods. They each grab their bags and follow me up the stairs.

"Okay. Zach, you're getting my room, a bunch of cool stuff in there, including my Xbox, feel free to use it."

He nods. "Thanks, man."

"You're welcome. Now, Gray. You get the guest bedroom with my other cool stuff. Follow me, sir."

We walk a little further down the corridor and open the door to the guest bedroom in front of Karen's room. Gray steps inside the bedroom and he gasps.

"Wow! This- this is… wow!"

I stand next to him and look around. "I know, right? You're the first person who's seen these."

He turns to me, surprised. "Really?!"

"Yeah, really kid."

"Thank you!" He bear hugs me.

"Oomph, kid." He is a kid, but when you don't see one of his hugs coming, they can take away your breath a little. "You're welcome."

Yesterday when we came back from the bakery, mum and I were working the logistics of where would Karen and the kids sleep. We decided to put Zach in my room, since it's the first bedroom in the corridor and not as close to the rest of the other bedrooms, that way he has a little more privacy. We put Gray in the 2nd guest bedroom, where I had all the boxes with my books from university and the newly brought boxes from Costa Rica. In them, was all my research from the velociraptors, including video footage.

I pulled everything from the boxes and arranged everything perfectly. I even had posters from the velociraptors with labels and all.

"There's a dvd player right under the tv so you can see my girls. Everything is in those cds. From the moment they hatched, until their last training session. Knock yourself out, man."

He starts jumping up and down. "This is so awesome! You're the best!"

I prepare myself for another hug, but it doesn't come. Instead I see Gray run further into the room and start reading the labels of the cds.

"I take it he liked it." Isabella says standing next to me.

I laugh. "No, he hates it. Hey Gray, come here for a second." He turns around and walks up to us. "This is my sister Isabella. Isa, this is Gray."

Isabella smiles down at him. "Nice to meet you, Gray. I hear you're quite the dinosaur expert."

Gray stretches out his hand to Isabella and she shakes it. "Nice to meet you too. I read a lot."

"I bet you do. Owen has a lot of cool books from his university days that talk a lot about evolution. I'm not sure if you'll understand everything, but you can definitely give it a go."

He shrugs and smiles sheepishly. "I'll read them anyway."

Isa and I laugh. "Okay kid. Make yourself at home and I'll call you when lunch is ready. Is that okay?"

He nods and turns back excitedly to the cds. Isa and I walk out of the room and into the corridor. "Hey, let me introduce you to Zach."

We walk to Zach's room and I knock the door. "Come in." I hear him call. I open the door.

"Hey, I just wanted to introduce you to my sister." I open the door fully and Isabella steps into the room.

"Hey Zach, nice to meet you. I'm Isabella" She stretches out her hand and Zach shakes it.

"Nice to meet you, Isabella."

"Are you into dinosaurs too? Gray is going nuts in there." She laughs.

He laughs too. "No, I'm not. I'm more into cars and that kind of thing."

"Cool, you'd get along with my dad then. He knows everything there is to know about cars. Right, Owen?"

"Yeah, his dad owned a garage shop. He worked there when he was about your age."

Zach nods. "Cool. You never stop learning. I could talk about cars all day."

"Then he'll love you. Hey, where's your mum? I want to say hi to her."

Zach points to the door. "She's downstairs talking to aunt Claire."

"Okay. Nice to meet you again, Zach."

"Yeah, nice to meet you too."

Isabella turns around and goes down to the living room.

"Okay, I'll leave you to it then. I'll let you know when lunch is ready." I turn around and I'm closing the door when Zach calls me.

"Hey. Your sister's hot." He smirks.

I point to him. " _Don't_. Plus she has a boyfriend."

He raises an eyebrow briefly. Just like his aunt. "Too bad."

"Behave, Zach. You've seen me punch."

He raises his hands. "Chill, dude. Just joking."

"Yeah, yeah." I point to him one more time and close the door. I smile and shake my head.

Teenage boys.

I go down to the living room and see Claire, Karen and Isabella talking. I stand at the bottom of the stairs for a second and look at them for a little bit. It all seems to be coming together. My family and Claire's are getting along super well and things seem to be getting better in general.

Claire and I trust each other 100% now. I don't think there's anything we haven't told each other. Anything of importance, that is. The small details we'll learn little by little in time.

Oh my God.

We're going to live together. We're going to _live_ together.

Why hadn't that sunk in before? We're official now. Claire and Owen. A couple. Officially. And we haven't told anyone yet.

I walk to up to them. "The kids are getting settled. I told them I would let them know when lunch was ready, but I don't think we'll see Gray for the rest of the weekend, to be completely honest."

Karen frowns. "What do you mean?"

"Owen put all of his research on the velociraptors in Gray's room." Claire says.

"Oh, that's so nice of you. Yeah, we won't be seeing him at all." Karen laughs.

I shrug it off. "If someone is going to appreciate all that info, is Gray."

"Yeah, that's certain."

"Well guys, I'll leave you to catch up. See you at dinner." Isabella says.

"We're you going?"

"Remember Charlotte?"

I think for a little bit. "Oh, the one who dyed her hair blue?"

"Exactly. Since I couldn't go to her parents wedding anniversary party, she's going to show me the video footage; which I can't wait to see. So, see you guys later."

We all laugh. "Okay, Isa. See you."

She turns around and leaves.

"Okay. So you two want to know what the lawyers told me now, or later?" Karen asks looking between the two of us.

I look at Claire. "Up to you."

She nods. "Let's talk now."

"Okay." Karen says.

We move to the living room and sit down. Karen opens her purse and pulls out a huge file.

"Okay. The most important thing you guys need to know is that everything is ready. The case is 100% ready to go. Evidence, witnesses, everything. The only thing that's missing is your signature, Claire."

We both nod. Karen continues.

"Last night I received a call from one of the lawyers telling me Castell had been bailed out. By whom? They don't know. They were curious to know, because the bail had been set at $50,000."

I look confused at her. "I don't understand why that's important."

"It's important because if he has access to that kind of money, then he can probably get good lawyers. And if he can get good lawyers…"

"Then he might get out of this scot free." Claire finishes for Karen.

Karen nods. "Exactly."

I shake my head confused. "How could he manage that? There's so much evidence, that _cannot_ happen."

"The lawyers _assured_ me that even though it was very unlikely for him to get out of this, there have been cases were someone who was obviously guilty, has been declared innocent. They gave me OJ Simpson as an example."

I rub my face. "I'll kill him if he gets out of this."

Karen points at me. "That's another thing they asked me to talked to you about. You were lucky he didn't sue you. But they can still use that against us. So those kinds of comments don't even think about saying them out in public. They're not going to help."

I look down at my knuckles and see the bruises. I'll gladly get more if it means he gets to feel a fraction of the pain he caused Claire. But Karen's right. Those kinds of comments or actions won't _help_ Claire. I look up at her.

"Are they sure it's unlikely for him to get out of this?"

"There's no way to know until we listen to what they have to say, but no, they don't think he'll get out of this. They already went through the jury. They are all parents and seem like decent people."

I nod. I look at Claire. "What do you think? You're quiet."

She's stays quiet for a while. "Claire?"

She shakes her head. "I'm just a little overwhelmed, that's all."

"I know. But all this will be over soon." I hold her hand.

"It will, Claire. We have a date, actually. September 23rd."

"That's in less than 2 weeks." I say.

"Yeah, the press is covering the story thoroughly. I don't know if you guys have been watching the news, but apparently that has speed things up. Which is good."

Claire nods. "Okay. What else have the lawyers told you?"

"They want to know if you're going to be there. You don't have to be, everyone is aware of the extent of your injuries, but them choosing their strategy depends on whether you'll be there or not. But it's completely up to you, Claire."

Claire looks down at our intertwined hands. "He's going to be there. I don't know if I want to put a face to the person who almost killed me."

I squeeze her hand. "You don't have to be there. If it's too much for you, you don't have to be there."

I want her to know she doesn't have to act tough. What happened to her was horrible and it's too soon to ask her to go and be in the same room as _him_.

"The only difference between one strategy and the other is that if you're there, then they'll let you do most of the retelling. If you're not, they'll focus more on your injuries and the fact that you're not there _because_ of what he did to you."

"When do you need an answer?" Claire asks Karen.

"Between today and tomorrow."

She nods. "Okay. Let me think about it today and I let you know tomorrow."

"That's perfect." Karen says. "I just need you to sign this. All these are documents stating that you are aware of the legal process and that you will follow any decision the judge makes."

Karen hands Claire a pen and she takes it. "Do you have a piece of paper? I don't know if I can sign properly with the cast."

"Yeah, I have a notepad in my purse." Karen opens her purse and looks through it. She pulls out the notepad and hands it to Claire. She puts the notepad on her thigh and signs it.

"Do you think that's good enough?" She shows it to Karen and I. It's a little shaky, but it's a clear signature.

"Yeah, that's good." Karen says. She hands Claire a handful of documents, she goes through them quickly and signs them. "There." She sighs. "This is not a fun process."

Karen huffs. "No, it's not. But it will be over soon."

"Yeah, I hope so."

I bump Claire with my shoulder. "Hey, should we tell her?"

Claire looks confused at me. "Tell her what?"

"Oh my God! Tell me what?!" Karen looks excitedly between us.

"About Philadelphia."

"Oh, _that_." Realization dawns on her face. "Sure. Why not?"

"What is it?!"

Claire smiles at Karen. "When we were in New York, Masrani Global offered me to choose which ever job I wanted."

Karen nods. "Yes, Owen told me."

"Okay. Well, I chose one. Operations Senior Manager at Roche Pharmaceutical…. in Philadelphia. We're moving to Philadelphia."

Karen smile widens. "Oh my God, you guys are moving in together!"

We both laugh. "Yes, we are." Claire says.

Claire looks at me and I can see the same surprise I felt in her face. The realization that we're taking a huge step, and that it feels completely right.

"You guys are so cute!"

We stay in the living room talking, talking and talking. It feels incredibly good to talk about the future. Even though Claire and I are not moving to Philadelphia until her ribs heal up and this whole thing with Castell has gone away, the fact that we will have a life after, it's amazing.

"Sorry to interrupt, but lunch is ready." Teresa says.

"Perfect. Thanks, Teresa. I'll let the kids know." I stand up.

"No. Don't worry about it. I'll go. I have to leave all of this in my room anyway." Karen says.

"Okay. Same room as last time."

"Perfect. Thank you." Karen says.

She collects her things and goes to her room.

I turn to Claire and she's looking at me. Her eyes are shining with happiness.

"We're moving in together. For some reason I hadn't realized that."

I walk closer to her. "Me neither. But I can't wait 'till the day that we do."

"Oh, yeah?" She says taking a step closer to me.

"Oh, yeah. You have no idea how much I want us to share the same kitchen, the same living room, the same the bedroom, the same shower." I lean forward and kiss her. I feel her left hand rest on my side. I hold her face and rub my thumb against her cheek.

"You two have a room. Why don't you use it?" We hear Zach say.

We break apart and we turn in the directions of Zach's voice. He's standing next to the piano with his arms crossed and Gray by his side, smiling.

"Oh trust me, buddy. We are using it." I feel Claire hit me on the arm. "Ow!"

They both laugh and we walk to the dining room. Karen comes down a moment later.

"So, what are we having for lunch, T?"

"Roast beef."

"Yum!"

We all sit down and enjoy an amazing lunch. We talk and laugh. I ask Zach about his girlfriend and he tells he broke up with her.

"She was nice and everything, but she was too clingy. She was before we went to Isla Nublar, imagine how she was when I came back. It was too much."

We laugh. "You're 17, dude. You'll find someone you truly like."

He looks at me and smirks. "You mean someone like – "

"No! Someone else." I point to him again.

"Someone like whom?" Karen asks.

"His sister's hot." Zach tells Karen.

I grab my napkin, make it into a ball and throw it at him.

"Hey! I'm just saying…"

He's teasing me, I know that. But it's still fun to throw things at him, cause I sure as hell won't be able to do that to Alexander. Not without Isa hating my guts, that is.

After we're done eating lunch, I ask the kids if they want to get into the pool and enjoy the sun. They both agree and they go into their rooms to get changed.

"You want to get into the pool today, Claire?" I ask.

"No, not today. But I'll change into more comfy clothes and definitely enjoy the sun with you guys."

"How about you, Karen?"

"I don't go into the water. Ever."

Claire nods. "That's true. I think she's allergic to it."

"I think I am. But I definitely enjoy getting a tan, so I'll go change."

"Great! See you guys at the pool."

Karen goes upstairs to change and Claire and I go to the pool house. I grab the same swim shorts I wore yesterday and change into them. Claire grabs a pair of shorts and a sleeveless white t-shirt. She goes into the bathroom and changes.

"Do you need help?" I ask Claire.

"No, I don't." She replies. I laugh.

When she comes out of the bathroom, I help her put her sleeve on and we go out through the French doors into the pool. We come out in the exact moment Gray and Zach jump into the pool excitedly. We laugh and walk around the pool to the chairs.

Karen is already sitting down, shaking her head at her kids. "I hate the water, they love it."

Claire sits down next to Karen. "Do you need anything?"

"No, I'm good. Thanks."

"Then if you'll excuse me, ladies." I turn around and jump into the pool.

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"So?" Karen asks.

"So what?" I look at her.

"You told him you love him."

I turn my head to look at her. "How do you even know that?"

"He told me; in the hospital. He was so excited, so happy. You really found the perfect guy for you Claire. Congratulations."

I smile at her. "Yeah, I did."

"And now you're moving in with him! How did that even happen? This is not like you at all. Not that I'm complaining, but I want to know." Karen asks excitedly.

I shake my head. "I don't know to be completely honest with you. There's just something about him…" I see Owen pick up Gray and throw him across the pool. He squeals in delight. "When he told me he would follow me wherever I chose to go, I froze. No one I've ever been with has ever been so quick at letting me decide. He was willing to completely uproot his life to go with me. And we weren't even together really. We haven't been together for long. Which is crazy! So many things have happened, and now that I think about it, Owen and I have been together for – " I think of that day in the hotel room. When I told him I was willing to give us a chance. "3 weeks! We've been together for 3 weeks. That's ridiculous!"

I look at Karen. "Does it feel ridiculous?" She asks me.

"No. No, it doesn't. It feels completely right. Which makes everything crazier."

"But you're loving it."

"I'm loving it."

Karen sighs. "Well, let me tell you, it is very nice to see you this happy, Claire. You deserve it. You two will be very happy. I can see that already."

I look at Owen and smile. "Yeah, I think so too."

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"Hey, Isa. Did you have fun at Charlotte's?"

I turn off the blender and pour the protein shakes into tall glasses.

"Oh my God! You have no idea how good it was! I actually almost wet myself. Where's everyone?"

"Claire is taking a nap, and Karen and the kids are in their rooms. I came to make protein shakes. Claire should be up soon."

Isa sits down on the chair behind the island. "Hey I was thinking maybe we could play charades? I haven't played that game in years and there's a bunch of us. It will be fun. I'll even convince mum and dad to play. What do you think?"

"Yeah, that would be cool. We'll ask them after dinner."

"Awesome! So, how was your day? Did you guys have fun?"

I put some water in the blender and let it soak. "Yeah. After lunch we went into the pool. I played some basketball with the guys. Gray kept asking me throw him across the pool to see if he could manage to put the ball through the hoop mid-air."

"Did he?"

"Just once. But it was fun. Karen and Claire were tanning."

Isa laughs. "I actually have to do that. I'm basically transparent."

I shake my head. "No, you're not."

"Yes, I am." She stands up and opens the pantry. She looks through it and pulls out a box of chocolate chip cookies.

"Alexander is coming back from Hawaii in 2 weeks. He's going to be super tan and I am not. I'm not going to be the pale one in our relationship."

She opens the box and pulls out 4 cookies. I walk to her and take the box from her. "I'll take this, thank you very much."

She shakes her head. "One day, you are going to get fat. Keep eating like that, you'll see."

I pull a cookie out and stuff it completely in my mouth. "When that day comes, I'll stop, but until then…" I stuff another cookie in my mouth, grab the protein shakes and walk out of the kitchen.

When I open the door to the pool house, I see Claire has already woken up.

"Hey, did you have a nice nap?" I ask. I sit next to her on the bed.

She yawns. "Yes, I did."

I give her the protein shake. "Thought you might want some and I stole Isabella's cookies. She says I'm going to get fat someday."

"That's probably true. Don't worry, I won't leave you for a younger, fitter man once that happens."

" _Aw, babe_. That's so nice of you." I say overly emotional.

She laughs and takes a cookie from the box.

"So, I was thinking. Should we start looking for a place to live in Philly?"

She looks at me. "I don't know. We won't be able to go there until my ribs heal up. That's what? 2-3 months away?" Her eyes widen. "Oh wow, that's not enough time. Yes, we should definitely start looking."

"Okay, then." I stand up and grab Claire's laptop and turn it on. I move closer to her so she can see what I'm doing. "We should start looking now."

I go to google and type apartments for sale in Philadelphia. I choose a website that has filters in it. I personalize my search. "Do we want an apartment with 1 or 2 bedrooms?"

"2 bedrooms."

I click on the '2 bedrooms' option. "Okay, city or suburbs?"

"Which one do you like best?" Claire asks me.

"For the both us? Definitely city. Plus all the sporting events are there."

"I like the city too."

"Perfect." I click on the city option. "Do you have Roche's address? I have the option to type it here, so it can look for places close by."

She closes her eyes and thinks. "Ah, yeah. I think I have it in my email."

I open another tab and open gmail. "Scroll down. There. That email right there."

"Okay." I copy and paste the address in the search engine and click 'search'.

A lot of options appear. I scroll down and see we have 7 pages to choose from. I look at Claire. "Lots of options."

"Yeah. But wait, we have to discuss one little detail before we start looking for anything."

I drink some protein shake. "What little detail?"

"Money. We need to discuss how we are going to for pay this."

I put the laptop on the bed. "Oh. Well, I was thinking, I'll pay for everything, a-"

"No."

"Yeah, I thought you would say that." I scratch my head. "Okay, how about you tell me how you want to do this and then we'll go from there."

She raises an eyebrow. "I was thinking, we should go 50/50 on everything we share. So, the place we live in, food, all those things. And if you want to buy, a playstation or something like that, then you pay for it. Same for me."

I nod. "Yeah, that sounds pretty reasonable. Wait, I'm curious now. I'm going to ask you something, you don't have to answer it if you don't want to though."

"Uh oh. Okay. I think I know where this is going." She smirks.

"How much money do you actually have? Are you Martha Stewart rich? Or Steve Jobs rich?"

Claire laughs. "I don't think I come close to either of them. Especially Steve Jobs. I could ask you the same. How rich are _you_? Michael Jordan rich? Or Sir Richard Branson rich?"

I shake my finger at her. "Nah uh. I asked you first. So you answer first."

"Ugh fine. I'll let you do the math. A regular Senior Operations manager makes anywhere between $130,000-$150,000 a year. That's what I was making before I started working at Masrani Global. Once I started working at Masrani Global, my salary immediately increased, and that's because the corporation was Indian-American and as an American employee working neither in the US or India, I automatically made more money. Th-"

I interrupt her. "How much more money are we talking exactly?"

"At first, $175,000."

"At first?!" Oh my God! I think Claire is a millionaire.

"As I was saying, my salary increased once I started working at Jurassic World. I was hired as an operations manager, but Mr Masrani saw potential, so he promoted me to senior operations manager. That increased my salary a little more."

"How much is 'a little' to you?" I ask not trusting Claire in telling me how much of a raise she got.

She rolls her eyes. "$10,000 more."

"You were making $185,000 a year working at Jurassic World?" I guess she _could_ pay for her own lawyers.

"Not exactly."

I lean back on the headboard. "What? Were you making more money than that?!"

"If you keep interrupting me, then you'll never know."

"Sorry, please continue."

"The reason he promoted me, was because I manage to convince representatives from Bank of America and Coca-Cola to give $6 million each to start the process of bringing the Spinosaurus to life. After that, he promised me that if I ever managed to get funding of $15 million or more, I would receive 3% of it."

My mouth is hanging wide open.

"The next meeting I had with investors was for your velociraptors. Each of them cost $5 million dollars to make. Mr Masrani wanted a pack, so we agreed we needed at least 4 of them, which meant we needed $20 million. It wasn't easy convincing the investors, but I managed to get $22 million. Those extra $2 million were used to build the space they hatched in and the initial costs of care."

I blink up at her. "You received 3% of $22 million? That's…" I run the numbers in my head. My eyes widen. "That's $66,000 straight to your pocket!"

"Yep." She says proudly. And she should, not a lot of people would've managed that.

"Were you also the one who got the investments for the mosasaur and the indominus rex?"

She smiles a wicked smile. "Yes."

Motherfucker! If my math is correct, then in her time at Jurassic world, Claire made… "You made like $750,000 at Jurassic World!" I stand up and look down at her. "You know what? I think you're going to be my sugar mama."

She bursts out laughing and then gasps. "Ow! Don't make me laugh! It hurts!"

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." I sit back down next to her. "That's very impressive, Claire. And that's not even counting the money you made before you started working at Jurassic World. So you're a millionaire."

"No, I'm not. I pay my taxes. If I didn't, then I would be. Well, how about you? Your turn to tell me about your riches."

"Ha! My story is nothing as impressive as yours. When nonno died, he left me $200,000 and part of his shares from the bakery. When I came back from Afghanistan, I talked to an accountant and he told me the smartest thing was to invest. I decided to buy shares instead, so I bought shares at Apple and Microsoft, which I thought were pretty safe, and they have been. All in all, I have around $500,000 in my bank account. But that money was basically given to me, you made all that money by yourself. You are amazing!"

She smiles at me. "Do you feel emasculated by the fact that I have more money than you?"

I nod. "A little, yeah. But I'm mostly impressed." I grab the laptop and put it back on my lap again. "So do we put a price range or not?"

Claire mulls it over. "I think we should. Just in case we find something we love and then it turns out to cost $900,000. I think we should do it like this: how much money would you spent in buying an apartment in Philly, in the city with 2 bedrooms?"

"Mm. I think I would be willing to pay $200,000, maybe $250,000. But it would have to be something amazing! Somewhere where I would plan to stay for a long time, cause I'm not about to spend that kind of many and sell it a year later!"

"Okay. I would pay up to $300,000. I have grown used to living in a certain space and I'm not about to change that. So, that would mean, assuming you would pay $200,000, that we can buy a place that cost $400,000. Since we're going to be paying 50/50, then I'll pay $200,000 as well. That's pretty good. We can get an amazing place with $400,000."

I smile. "Perfect." I click the option that says $350,000-$400,000 and 10 options show up. "Not as many, but let's see."

I've never been to Philadelphia, but I hadn't really noticed how beautiful it is. The open parks, the museums, the river, it's truly beautiful. I can definitely see myself here with Claire. Walking out on a Saturday morning, drinking coffee, walking through the park, laughing about something dumb I said. Yeah, this city is perfect.

"Hey, look at this one. Walking distance from University City and Rittenhouse Square, 24 hour guarded gate, concierge in building, deeded one-car parking, state-of-the-art gym with an outdoor pool, community centre with library & entertainment area. This one sounds pretty awesome!"

"Are there photos?"

I scroll down. "Yes, there are. Let's see." I click on the photos and they cover the whole screen. "Oh, that's just beautiful."

I go through each picture. I am completely fascinated by what I'm seeing. "What do you think? You don't like it? You haven't said anything."

She shakes her head. "No. No, I love it. It's just that – I had a moment. I actually saw us there. It was weird."

"Me too! I saw us walking through the park, drinking coffee, laughing. It was awesome! Should we call?"

She looks at me surprised. "Now?"

"Yeah, we can't risk losing this place. Where's my phone?" I look around me and grab my phone. "Let's call!" I dial the number and put it on speakerphone. I look at Claire.

"This is exciting."

She laughs. "Yes, it is."

"Hello?"

I raise my eyebrows. "Hello. My name is Owen and I'm calling about the add you posted in Sotheby's realty."

"Oh, great. I'm Jason. Is there anything in specific you would like to know?"

"This is going to sound like a weird question, but how's the vibe? My girlfriend and I have gone through a lot lately, and we're just looking for a place that's chill, you know?"

He laughs. "No, I get it. It's a great place really. It's not that close to main avenues, so there's no noise from traffic, the majority of people who live in this building are in their 60s, so you're not going to have raving parties on Friday nights. It really hurts me to put this place on the market to be completely honest. I don't know if I'll ever find a place I love as much as this one."

I look at Claire and she nods. "Okay, Jason. You sold it perfectly. The thing is my girlfriend was in an accident, so we can't travel until 3 months from now. Are you getting a lot of offers?"

"Not really. This is an expensive apartment and in these times people are selling more than buying."

"Okay, man. We are all in for this place, but we can't really buy it if we haven't seen it. Would you be willing to wait 3 months for us to fly to Philadelphia?"

"Yeah, totally. I mean, as long as I don't get someone who's willing to pay upfront, which I doubt will happen, I don't have any problems in waiting for you guys."

I do a fist pump. "Thanks, Jason. You're awesome, dude."

"Don't worry, Owen. If I get another potential buyer, I'll call you up and let you know."

"That would be awesome. Thanks again."

"Sure. Nice to kinda meet you, Owen."

"Ditto. Have a good evening."

"You too. Bye."

"Bye."

I hang up and throw my phone on the pillow. "I think we have found our dream home, baby!"

"Oh God! That happened really fast!" she laughs.

"I know! We found our home! Let's just hope nobody else takes it."

"I don't think that will happen. When was the add posted?"

I scroll up and look at the date. "10 months ago."

"I think that apartment was waiting for us. What are the chances? Really? This is too much of a coincidence."

I think it over. It's true. Everything has happened in the last month. Literally everything. Claire and I getting together, us deciding to live together, then the accident. So much has happened in such little time, and yet, the pieces seem to be falling into place by themselves.

"Maybe the universe is _really_ rooting for us."

She laughs. "Maybe. I'm just glad things are finally calming down for us."

"Yeah, me too." I close the laptop, push it aside and kiss Claire. We are going to get our happily ever after, and I don't care how cheesy it sounds. That's what I want for us.

I feel my phone vibrate. I pull away from Claire; she bites her lip. I grab my phone and unlock the screen.

*Yo, dinner's ready! *

* Coming. *

"It's Isabella, she says dinner's ready."

"Let's go then."

I lean forward and kiss her one more time. "Now we can go."


	24. Chapter 23

I knooooow! I feel horrible! This is the first time I've missed an update and I apologize deeply for that! I had semester tests (chemistry and calculus) and my mind was somewhere else. Send me good vibes, cause I'll definitely need it. Hard classes, man! But I can assure you that this Saturday there will be an update. I wrote chapter 24 a couple of weeks ago, so I've had it ready for a little bit. I hope you enjoy this chapter and I should tell you, this is the last chapter in present time. Next chapter we're going to have a time jump! I had a lot of fun writing chapter 24 and I can't wait to share it with you guys! I'll shut up and let you enjoy!

23

Well, charades was a bloodbath. I knew Claire was competitive; but what I didn't know was that Karen was just as competitive as Claire, and don't even get me started on Zach. Thank God he was in my team.

I didn't know, but turns out mum is quite the actress. She managed to make her team guess 'Charlie and the chocolate factory' in like 20 seconds.

How the hell do you do that?!

It goes without saying that we, men, lost. The women triumphed and they made sure to remind us that every single second.

Karen and the kids had a blast the whole weekend. Isabella, Zach, Gray and I went to the arcade on Saturday and we stayed there for a good 5 hours. Karen and Claire continue catching up and talking about who knows what.

Later that day though, things weren't as happy as they should've been.

"I don't want to go." Gray tells me. "I love the room you gave me and I have so much fun when I'm with you guys. Aunt Claire, can you talk to mum? Maybe we can stay one more day? Please."

Claire motions for Gray to sit next to her on our bed. Karen and Zach went to a car exhibition Zach found online and asked Karen if he could go, he told her she could go with him if she wanted to, and she jumped at the opportunity to bond with her eldest son.

So, we are bonding with Gray; and we brought him to the pool house so he could see it.

Gray sits on the bed next to Claire and rests his head on her shoulder. "I don't think I can do much, sweetheart. You guys have to go home."

He gets teary. "But I don't want to go home."

Claire pulls back a little to look at him. "What's going on, Gray? Why don't you want to go home?"

He lifts his head from Claire's shoulder and starts crying. "They've started to fight again. Every time they see each other they yell. I thought it would get better after coming back from the island, and it did for a little bit. But now it's worse than before."

"Oh, sweetheart." She puts her arm around him and pulls him to her. "I know it seems bad, right now. But things will get better, I promise you that. There's a lot of frustration between your mum and dad, so when they talk to each other, any small thing sets them off and they can say things to each other that they don't really mean. But eventually, that will stop."

In a whisper, Gray says, "They fight about me a lot. They say Zach is old enough to choose, but I will have to spend more time with one of them, and I don't want to have to choose between either of them!"

He bursts into tears again. The pain in his voice is so tangible. This little dude is breaking my heart. Claire looks at me in a silent plea to help her. I stand up from the chair and sit on the bed, so now Gray is sitting down in between the both of us.

"Buddy, I can't even imagine what you must be feeling, but I want you to remember something. Your parents love you, and I know you feel caught in the middle and like you're being pulled in two different directions, but they're trying to do what's best for you. Right now they're just coming off a little too strongly because their feelings are hurt, but like your aunt said, it will pass. You don't have to worry about that. Okay?"

He sniffs and rubs his eye, and I swear he looks half his age when he does that. "Okay."

Not too long after that, Gray falls asleep in between the two of us. "Poor kid. I think he's too smart for his own good." I whisper.

Claire looks down at him and rubs his back gently. "Yeah, and he's so sensitive too. I'm going to have to talk to Karen. This isn't okay. It's been a little over a month since we left the island, how long has he been bottling all of these in?"

I shake my head. "I don't know. But at least he got all of it out. It's great that he trusts you this much. It's good that he has someone out of his house to talk to."

"He trusts you too. He respects you. That's good too." She tells me.

I smile at her.

Karen and Zach come back from the exhibition about 2 hours later. Karen texts Claire and asks her where she is, and Claire tells her in the pool house, but to stay in the living room because they have to talk.

I don't know how the conversation went on exactly, but what I do know, because Claire told me, is that Karen was horrified that Gray had been aware of those fights. She started crying and was being very hard on herself. After Claire calmed her down, Karen made a promise to herself to be less hot headed when talking to Scott.

The rest of the weekend went on without a glitch. We had a barbecue on Sunday and we went all out. We had every possible kind of meat, all types of bread, and all types of beer and wine, of course.

When the time came to say goodbye, Gray started crying again. Not like before, but he was just sad that they had to leave so soon.

"I'm gonna miss you, Aunt Claire." He says hugging Claire.

"I'm gonna miss you too, sweetheart. Your mum has my phone number, if you need anything, even if it's just to talk, call me okay? Promise?"

"I promise. I love you."

"I love you too."

They break off the hug and Zach steps forward. "We'll see each other soon?" Zach asks Claire.

"Of course. Maybe once Owen and I are settled in in Philadelphia, we'll go visit you guys. I won't let so much time pass this time."

He nods. "Good." He hugs her too and doesn't say anything else.

"Take care, yes?" Karen tells Claire.

"I will." Karen hugs Claire. "I'll keep you updated with everything. I'll be in contact with the lawyers via Skype. They won't come to you at all."

"Okay. Thank you."

Claire made the decision to not go to the courthouse and to not be involved in general. She doesn't want to be there, so Karen promised she would take care of everything.

"See you soon, Kar."

"See you soon. I love you."

"Love you too."

Dad offered to take them to the airport, so with that, they left.

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"It's been a week, Isa. You promised." I tell her as we finish eating breakfast.

She looks confused at me. "What are you talking about?"

I give her a deadpan look. "You know exactly what I'm talking about."

She looks at Claire and then back at me. "I really don't kn – Oh! The song."

"Yeah, the song. I'm assuming you already have one?"

"Yeah, I do." She takes a sip from her orange juice and looks down at her toast.

I look at Claire and she shrugs. I've never seen Isabella become shy before.

"So, what are we waiting for? The piano is right there waiting for you."

She puts the glass down. "Now? I woke up half an hour ago. I'm still wearing my pajamas."

"Now's the best time. You promised."

She rolls her eyes and stands up. "Fine! But if I'm pitchy, it's your fault for making me sing this early in the morning."

I'm about to stand up, but Isabella stops me. "No. Stay right here. Cause if you're going to be looking straight at me, I'm going to get all self-conscious. You have a perfectly good view from here."

I raise my hands and sit back down. "Whatever you say, as long as you sing."

"What song did you choose?" Claire asks.

Isabella sits down on the piano and turns to her. "Remedy by Adele."

Claire's eyes widen. "Wow, Adele. That can't be easy."

"It isn't. Which is why singing it this early in the morning is probably a bad idea, _Owen_."

I shrug. "Hey, I trust you."

Isa stares at me. "I hate you."

"No, you don't."

"Shut up." She turns around and starts playing the piano. I stand up and move to sit next to Claire, so I'm a little closer to Isa.

She's playing the piano masterfully. I don't know how she does it. I've heard the song a couple of times before, the piano is the only instrument in the song. How she's going to manage to do both? I don't know, but like I said before, I trust her.

And she starts.

" _I remember all of the things that I thought I wanted to be…"_

Oh my God. She sounds so incredibly good. How the hell did I even miss that she could sing? How she must've wanted to sing all day long, and felt like she couldn't.

" _When the pain cuts you deep…_ "

I'm not going to compare her with Adele, cause that woman is on a whole other level, but Isa can hit the notes; which are not easy notes to hit. And the piano, she hasn't messed up once. She has obviously been practicing, but there's this natural, I don't know, _thing_ there. She's in her comfort zone.

" _Your love, it is my truth_ …"

I am so entranced by Isa, I don't even feel Claire lean towards me. "She's amazing, Owen."

Without taking my eyes off if Isa I say, "Yeah, she is."

I'm genuinely moved by her performance. She's so good, and the fact that she obviously enjoys it makes it all so much more special to watch.

"… _I will be your remedy_."

She continues playing the piano and hums the last part of the song, and then it ends. I stand up from my chair.

"Woo!" I clap and make a big show of it. "That was so amazing, Isa! _You_ are so amazing! I'm so proud of you. Come here!"

She stands up from the piano and I walk the few steps to her and hug her.

"Really? You liked it?" she asks a bit insecurely.

I pull back and look at her dead on the eyes. "I loved it. And I'm not just saying that. Since when are you insecure like this?"

She shrugs. "I don't know. Cause it's you?"

I frown. "What do you mean?"

"You're my big brother! Your opinion is one of the most important to me; the one I value, probably, the most! And you've never heard me sing before, so I didn't know if you would like it or not. That's why I got all weird like that."

Oh, wow. That's actually super sweet. "Isa, you never have to be afraid of me not being proud of you. And you definitely don't have to wonder if I'm going to like your singing, I loved it!"

"That was really impressive, Isabella. Playing the piano like that and singing cannot be easy, and yet you sounded so, so good." Claire says.

"Thanks." Isa smiles at Claire.

"So, what else do you have?" I ask Isa.

"What?"

"What other song can you sing right now?"

"Come on! I just sang a very difficult song! You want more?"

I nod. "Yeah."

"How about we sing one together?"

I look behind Isabella to see where the voice came from. I see a guy, probably Isabella's age come into the living room. He's tall, has really blond hair and his carrying a guitar case.

Oh.

I know who he is. Alexander.

Isa gasps. "Alex!" She launches herself at him. He puts the guitar case down just in time and picks her up with ease. "What are you doing here?! I thought you were coming back next week!"

His hug tightens and then he gives her a kiss on the cheek and puts her down. "I was, but dad had an emergency meeting here, so I thought I would just come back home. It is amazing to play the guitar and sing in front of the ocean, but it wasn't the same without you."

Isabella smiles. "Ugh, you're so cute." She hugs him one more time. "You have no idea how much I missed you."

"I missed you too, and…" he leans down and opens a pocket in his guitar case and pulls out one of those Hawaiian dancing motion dolls.

Isa laughs. "Oh my God, you remembered! This is so going in my car! Thank you!" She leans forward and kisses him.

It's so weird seeing my baby sister kissing someone. To me she's still that baby who couldn't say my name properly. 'Ooh-en', she would call me. I feel Claire hit me in the arm.

I look down at her and give her a questioning look.

She points to her face and then mouths 'relax'. That's when I realize all the muscles in my face are tight.

It's not like Isabella had a make out session with the guy, but to me it feels like it.

"Oh, hey…", Isa says.

She takes his hand and pulls him forward. "Alex, this is my brother Owen. Owen, _be nice_."

I look at her and then at him. He stretches out his hand. "Hey, I'm Alexander Müller, it's very nice to meet you. From all I've heard from Isa, I feel like I should be scared of you."

I take his hand and shake it probably a little more roughly than I normally would. "Yeah, you should. But it's nice to meet you too."

Isabella looks at me and shakes her head. "And I told you about her, this is Claire. Owen's girlfriend."

Alexander walks the few steps to Claire and shakes her hand. "Nice to meet you. How are you feeling? Isa told me my mum's advice helped you a bit."

Claire nods. "Oh my God. So much! Please thank her, it really made my life a lot easier to handle. I'm sorry, did you say your last name was Müller?"

"Yeah, I'm German. We moved here when I was about 3 years old. When I was 5, my parents divorced and my dad moved to Hawaii and my mum stayed here. That's were I just came back from, I was visiting him."

Claire smiles. "I think… Is his name Alger? Alger Müller?"

"Yeah, that's him! How do you know him?" he asks.

"Back before the park opened we had to choose a hotel chain to open a hotel in the park. We had narrowed it down to two hotels; JW Marriott and Hilton. I was put in charge of talking numbers with each executive, so I went to Hawaii to talk to your father. He was the nicest guy and was super direct, which I loved. At the end, Masrani Global decided to go with Hilton. That was actually the only time they didn't agree with me. I wanted JW Marriott, but they said Hilton had better marketing strategies, which in my opinion, they didn't. Well, I guess it was for the best they didn't choose Marriott, all things considered."

"Wow. That's a nice coincidence. Small world, huh?"

"Yes. Who would've thought?" Claire tells him.

Crap. Now Claire likes him too. And I wanted to have some fun torturing him. Now everyone in the house is going to look at me with a disapproving eye if I'm too hard on him.

"Have you had breakfast already?" Isa asks Alexander.

He nods. "Yeah, I had breakfast with mum. She dropped me off."

"Okay, come on." She takes his hands and pulls him towards the stairs.

He leans down and picks up his guitar case. "Okay. Nice to meet you, guys."

"Nice to meet you, Alexander." Claire says.

"Yeah, nice to meet you." I say a little more harshly.

Isa climbs the stairs with him and I turn to Claire.

"That was ridiculous, Owen. You got crazy overprotective. He's obviously a very nice kid."

I raise an eyebrow. "He could be the freaking male version of Mother Teresa and I would still be hard on him. She's my baby sister. It's a natural response."

She shakes her head. "Help me up, please."

I help her up and we walk back to the pool house.

"Is his father really a nice person? Or did you just say that?" I ask her as we sit on the couch to watch some TV.

"He is. Alger was very friendly. At first, I thought he was being very nice because of the huge business deal that would happen if Masrani Global chose Marriott, but then I realized he just was. You can tell when people are just playing nice, but now, seeing Alexander, I know he wasn't pretending."

Okay. I guess I don't have to be _that_ hard on him. He does seem like a nice guy, and Isa obviously likes him. They've been together almost a year, if he would've been a douche bag, I think Isa would've realized by now.

"Okay." I say.

"This is a whole new side of you I'm seeing. I know you're protective, but this is a whole new level of protectiveness." She tells me.

I look at her. "I can't help it. I don't think that will ever change, though."

"I don't think anyone wants you to change, Owen. But, you know, tone it down a bit."

I smile. "I can't promise anything."

"I know you can't."

Claire's cellphone rings. She picks it up and answers. "Hey, Karen."

I sit up straight. This must be about the case.

"Okay. It's Thursday, right?" She nods. "Yeah, okay. Love you too. Bye."

She hangs up and puts the phone down. "It's happening on Thursday. His defense is going to say their part, then the DA is going to say his part on my behalf and a sentence will be made."

I nod. "Good. That's good. As soon as all of this is over we will be truly able to start our lives together, Claire. It's good that it's happening fast."

"I know. It's just that – I'm nervous he could get out of this. I won't be able to fully live my life knowing that he's still out there."

I take her hand. "He won't get out of this. I promise you that. He won't. It's a solid case, Claire. He has basically 0% chances of getting out of this."

"Logically I know that, but I can't help but think that maybe he'll get away."

"He won't." I say a little more forcibly. "He won't."

She nods and I give her a kiss on the temple.

Days go by, and I get to know Alexander a little better. He comes to have lunch almost every day for the next week. Isa and him are glued to the hip. I guess I would be the same way if I went away for 2 weeks and didn't see Claire.

One day, as I'm walking to the pool house I see Alexander sitting on one of the pool chairs playing the guitar. I consider just walking straight to the pool house and ignore him, but then I think better of it and walk up to him.

Take advantage of the alone time, right?

I walk up to him silently and drop down on the chair next to him. He jumps a little and I smile proudly to myself.

"Where's Isabella?" I ask him just to make sure she doesn't see me with him.

"She uh, she went to talk to your mum for a little bit. She should be coming down anytime soon." He says looking over his shoulder, as if hoping Isabella would show up right now.

Oh, I'm going to enjoy this.

"So, tell me _Alex_ , what is it that you were studying?" I ask him.

He looks at me for a second, eyes a little wide. "Art History."

"Art History." I repeat. "This is probably none of my business, but I'm curious, what are you planning to do with an art history degree? I can't think of many things to do with one."

He shakes his head. "No, it's okay. You can do many things with a history degree. You can be a teacher, a researcher, a writer, advocates, you can go into business."

I raise an eyebrow. "Oh. Pardon my ignorance."

"No, no. It's okay. A lot of people think it's a useless career, but it really isn't." He's fast at reassuring me.

"Hm." I lean forward so I'm closer to him. "Here's the thing Alex, you look like a nice dude. Claire has assured me that your father is a very respectable man. Your mum seems like a very nice person, especially after helping Claire out. But _I_ don't know _you_. I've met plenty of people that are so nice at first, and then…" I snap my fingers for emphasis. "… they change just like that. The last time that happened, I punch someone on the face and then one of my velociraptors ate him."

His eyes are really wide now. Ha! Yeah, I'm really enjoying this.

"So I guess what I'm trying to say is, don't hurt my sister. Cause if you hurt her, then I will hurt you. Please, don't doubt that. Okay?"

I can see his grip tightening on the guitar. He is freaking the fuck out! This is priceless!

"I assure you, I love Isabella. I really do. I would never hurt her, not intentionally. I get that you don't know me, but you will eventually. You'll realize that I'm not that stupid as to not see how amazing she is. She just… makes sense. I don't know how to explain it. I know you must think that we're just kids, but I don't see myself with anyone else. Actually, if I ever hurt her, please do punch me."

Oh. I was just expecting him to shake in fear, I wasn't expecting a whole confession of his feelings. Now I look like the asshole older brother.

"Good. Just as long as you treat her with respect. That's all I ask." I tell him calmer.

"Always. Don't even doubt that." He tells me.

"Okay, Alexander. Nice to meet you then." I stretch out my hand and he takes it. I shake it properly this time.

"Nice to meet you too, Owen." He smiles.

I stand up just as Isabella is coming through the doors. She stops dead on her tracks and I wink at her and continue my way to the pool house. I don't hear much, but I could make out Isabella asking Alexander if I had manhandled him.

I walk into the pool house feeling better about him. At least I know his feelings for Isa are true and he's not just looking for a good time. Although, now thinking about it, they have been together for a year. I think I might've exaggerated a little. But I'll kill myself before confessing that.

The next day, is the day of the trial. Claire and I are very anxious. We eat because we know we have to, but the food we eat tastes like dry paper in our mouths.

"It started an hour ago. How long do you think this will last?" Claire asks me.

"I don't know. But Karen told us she would call immediately. Do you want me to turn on the TV? See if the news channels are broadcasting anything?"

She nods, pacing back and forth in the small living room. She looks like a caged animal.

I turn the TV and stop at the first news channel I find. There it is, all the news vans parked outside the courthouse, all waiting to hear what will become of David Castell. They still know nothing. They are doing a summary of what happened while passing images from the park and the accident. I change channels at that. We don't need to see those images ever again.

Claire's phone rings and she picks it up immediately and puts it on speakerphone.

"Karen. Is it over?" she asks.

"Yes, it's over. He was declared guilty, Claire."

She closes her eyes and a tear runs down her cheek. I move closer to her and hug her. "What was the sentence?" I ask Karen.

"4 years in prison, a $5000 fine, a suspended license for a year after he's released and a 2 year requirement for IID."

It doesn't seem like enough. He almost took the life of the woman I love. 4 years is nothing in my eyes. But right now, the only thing that matters is that he was found guilty and that now, Claire and I can move on.

"Thanks, Karen. We'll talk later, okay?" I tell her.

"Yes, of course. Claire?" Karen asks.

"Yes?"

"It's all over. Okay?"

She smiles through her tears. "Okay."

"I love you. Talk to you guys later."

"I love you too. Bye."

"Bye."

She hangs up and Claire throws her phone on the couch.

"Did I promise or what?" I tell her.

She laughs, more tears run down her cheeks. "You did promise."

"There's nothing holding us back now, Claire. Today we can truly start our future together."

"Yeah, we can. And I can't wait. I love you."

"I love you too, so much."

That evening the whole family was ecstatic. They were all so relieved justice had been made. That's where we broke the news that we were going to live together. We hadn't told them, just Karen. They were so happy for us. Mum and dad were especially happy that we were going to be close, just a short plane ride away.

Another week passed by and the day for Isabella's presentation at the Youth Centre arrived.

"Holy fuckballs, I'm so nervous!" Isa says to us on the parking lot of the Youth Centre.

"Isabella! Language." Mum says.

"Sorry, mum. But I'm really nervous. Look! There are so many people here tonight!" she says jumping up and down, shaking her arms a bit.

"It's okay to be nervous, cucciola. You'll be amazing!" Mum hugs her.

"Channel all that energy into your performance, Isa. Just don't let the nerves screw you over." Dad says.

"I'll try. Where the hell is Alexander? He's taking forever!"

"I'm right here! I'm right here, Isa!" Alexander hugs her. "Chillax, dude. You are going to be so good and I'll join you after and we'll blow everyone's brains out! You'll see."

I look at my watch, it's almost 7pm. "Guys, we should head in. And you two should run backstage, the show is about to start."

"Oh my God! I'm so going to throw up in front of 600 people!"

"Come on, Isa. Let's go!" Alexander takes her hand and pulls her towards the backstage door.

"Let's go find our sits then." We all nod and walk inside.

"How did Isabella get the performance?" Claire asks mum.

"She volunteers here on the summers and whenever she has a moment off. She teaches the younger kids music lessons. The program director was very grateful for Isabella's help, so he offered her to sing a couple of songs at the final presentation. That way the kids can also see the results of working hard."

"That's amazing. By her reaction I take it she's never performed in front of an audience like this?"

Mum shakes her head. "No, never. But I know that girl, the moment she has to step onto that stage, all that nervousness is going to fade away. I have no doubt in my mind she's going to do great."

"She always gets nervous before she has to sing, even if it's in front of 3 people. She always manages to blow everyone away, though. This time it won't be different." Dad says.

We step into the theater and find our sits. We asked for front row sits since Claire can't really maneuver that much. I help her sit down and then we all follow suit. The show starts at 7pm sharp. The director comes on stage and he's welcomed with a nice round of applause. He talks a little about the kids and what they have achieved during the whole summer and then he starts the show.

The first presentation is from a group of about 20 kids, from ages 10 to 18. They dance a very cool dance routine to a mix of hip-hop songs. Then comes a girl, who can't be more than 13 years old and plays Lacrimosa by Mozart on the piano. Claire particularly enjoyed that one.

About 4 performances later, the director comes out again and stands in the middle of the stage.

"This next performer is a very special young woman. She has donated hours and hours of her time to teach the youngest kids music. She's the kids' favorite teacher, and tonight she will delight us with a couple of songs. Please welcome to the stage, the wonderful Isabella Grady-Vernelli."

Isa walks on stage and hugs the director. We are all clapping and cheering for her. She looks at us and smiles. She sits on the piano, closes her eyes and takes a deep breath. She starts playing the piano. And then she starts singing.

The whole theater is silent, only the piano and Isabella can be heard. She sounds even better now that when she sang the song for Claire and I a week ago. She reaches the part of the song where there's a mini piano solo, and man you can tell the passion for music right there. As I watch her play the piano, I can see her getting completely lost in the music. Mum and dad were right; all that nervousness did fade away.

" _I will be, I will be… your remedy_."

She plays the last note of the song and lets the note linger. There's a second of silence and then the whole theater explodes. There's cheering and deafening clapping. We're all on our feet clapping and wooing. She takes the mic from the mic stand. She stands up and takes a bow.

"Thank you. Thank you so much." People keep clapping. Her smile widens. "I'm going to sing one more song, but I have someone very special to me singing it with me. Please welcome to the stage Alexander Müller."

People clap for Alexander, and I find myself clapping for him quite proudly. _Shit_. That dude won me over. It was inevitable, I guess. Isa is a pretty good judge of character, if she liked him that much, I was going to eventually like him too.

Alex walks on stage with 2 guitars. He hugs Isabella and whispers something in her ear, and her smiles widens even more. He hands her her guitar and 2 kids come running on stage and place two mic stands in front of them and run out off stage again.

"Hello. We're going to sing for you guys 'Give Me Love' by Ed Sheeran, hope you like it." Alex says. He looks at Isa and she nods.

They both start playing the guitar. Isa plays the chords and Alex the single notes. The guitars sound pretty good. Isa starts singing.

" _Give me love like him, cause lately I've been waking up alone_."

Isa sings the whole first verse by herself and Alex joins her on the chorus.

" _Give a little time to me, or burn this out. We'll play hide and seek_ …"

He's a really good singer. He has a raspy voice. They chose a good song for the both of them to sing. They continue singing, both completely entranced by the music and by each other. There is love there. I can see it. Mum and dad met when they were 20 years old, and look at them now. I hope Isa and I can have a fraction of the happiness mum and dad have. Actually, no. That's wrong. We already have that happiness. I take Claire's hand and intertwine my fingers with hers.

Isa finishes the song and the crowd goes wild.

"Help me up. They deserve a standing ovation from every single person in this theater, broken ribs are no excuse." Claire says to me.

I smile at her and help her up. We clap and start chanting their names. The whole theater joins in. The director comes out with 2 little kids and 2 huge bouquets of flowers. Isa kneels down and hugs both kids and receives the flowers humbly. Alex gives them high fives and also takes the flowers.

The director thanks Isabella and Alex and congratulates all of the kids on their presentations and their hard work, and the show is over. We all go back stage and we start screaming when we see Isa and Alex.

"You guys were so good! Why haven't you won Grammys? Seriously?! Congratulations to the both of you!" I say hugging Isa and Alex.

I see Isa shine with happiness when I hug Alex. This is me showing her I'm cool with him, as long as she is.

Two months pass by, and Claire and I find ourselves going to the hospital to see Dr Fukunaga so Claire can have her check up. She's gained a lot of mobility back. The bruising around her ribs is completely gone, so are the bruises on her face and the burn has grown less itchy.

"I have a pretty good feeling about today." Claire tells me.

"You do? In what way?"

"My ribs. I barely feel anything. You don't have to help me do anything anymore. I think they're pretty much healed up. Which means…"

"What? Which means what?" Please baby Jesus, I've waited long enough!

She flashes me a wicked smile. "Which means that maybe my cast is coming off too."

I deflate. A lot. She laughs. Of course, she laughs. She knows what she does to me and she plays it well.

We wait for about 10 minutes and we're called in. We talked to Dr Fukunaga for a little bit, and then he gets down to business.

"Okay, Claire. Let's test out your ribs. Stand up straight. Perfect. Now, I want you to try and touch the ceiling with both your hands. Stop if there's any discomfort."

She nods and raises her arms. That first movement doesn't seem to bother her at all. Then she starts reaching for the ceiling, but stops abruptly when she starts getting on her tiptoes.

"That hurt, huh?"

She exhales loudly. "Yes, it did."

"Don't get frustrated, Claire. You're actually doing pretty good. Most people can't even stretch without feeling pain immediately, you stretched a good 4cm. That's really good progress. One more month. I think in one more month your ribs will be completely healed up."

"A month?" she asks.

"A month for your ribs to be as good as new. You just told me you can do everything now. You're only going to get better. Now, I have your x rays right here. Let's see how your arm is doing."

Claire sits back down next to me. I smile at her.

"This is impressive, Claire." He steps aside so we can see. He pulls out another x ray and puts it besides the one that was already there. "Look at the difference. This one was taken when you were first brought in, and look at the one you had taken yesterday."

I wince a little. The fracture looks horrible. She broke both bones in her arm, both in one place, thank God. But it looks quiet gruesome and incredibly painful. But then I look at the most recent x rays, and the bones are aligned perfectly and you can see the place where her body is repairing those bones. Incredible.

"I told you you were like Wolverine. Look at that!" I say pointing to the x ray.

"Yeah, yeah." She says not very happy.

"Your arm needs 2 more weeks, Claire. Then I'll take the cast off."

"Really? You said 6 months." Claire says a little more happy.

"Well, I kinda lied to you. It can take for the radius and ulna _up to_ 6 months to heal. I didn't want to tell you anything less just in case they didn't heal very quickly. But it turned out pretty good for you."

Claire is giving him her best deadpan look. "I'm not going to yell at you because you saved my life and I will be eternally grateful for that. You're lucky."

I nod. "It's true. You don't want to see her wrath be unleashed. It's killed villages."

She turns her deadpan look to me. "See? A whole village in Bhutan just died."

Dr Fukunaga laughs and asks Claire to stretch out her left arm. He starts unwrapping the bandages around her burn. He pulls out from his drawer a pair of glasses with magnifying lenses and puts them on. He examines Claire's burn and then takes the glasses off.

"It looks like it's healing the way it's supposed to. Do you feel any discomfort?"

Claire shakes her head. "No, other than intense itching, but that stopped about a week and a half ago."

He nods. "You don't need to wear the bandages anymore. But keep wearing the sleeve when you're outside. If you're indoors, you don't need to wear it. Keep applying the creams and in about 4 or 5 months you should see a true difference. You're doing great, Claire. Congratulations."

Claire complained a little on our way home about not being 100% healthy, but then she realized that in one month she would be 100% healthy.

"I have to write to HR, let them know that I can start working in a month."

I make a right turn. "Wow, one step at the time. We haven't even asked him if you can fly yet. What about your burn? You still have a good 10 months before you can stop wearing the sleeve. I'm sure you're going to need rehabilitation for your arm. Please, worry about your health first. I know your itching to get back to work, but take it easy."

"It's fine, Owen. I'm sure whatever rehabilitation I have to do I can do in Philadelphia. In 2 weeks we have to go back, we'll ask Dr Fukunaga then. But I really think we should start getting things done. I don't want to wait any longer. You don't have to worry about me."

I roll my eyes. "You're asking me to not breathe by saying that. I will always worry about you. So don't ask me not to."

She smiles. "Well then, try not to worry _too much_ about me."

"I'll try, but I probably won't succeed."

When we get home we call Jason to ask him if the apartment is still available.

"Yeah, man. It's yours if you still want it."

"Definitely. We're not sure yet when exactly we'll be able to fly, but it probably be in one month."

"Sounds perfect. Give me a call when you guys know for sure." He tells me.

"Will do. Thanks, Jason."

"Of course. Bye."

"Bye."

The next couple of weeks Claire and I do our own thing individually. She sits in the living room talking to Masrani Global people on Skype, writing emails like crazy and writing documents. I actually wonder if she's already started working at Roche and not told me. I ask her and she tells me there are still a lot of things that were left hanging from Jurassic World. She needs to make statements and close off a lot files that were left unattended. She tells me she's getting paid for this and not to worry.

"I'm taking it easy. I'm just sitting here working on my laptop, it's not like I'm on an office running around from meeting room to meeting room. Don't worry."

"I told you to not ask me to do that." I tell her as I tie the shoelaces of my running shoes.

"Sorry, I forgot." She stops typing and looks at me. "Where are you going?"

I stand up. "Well, I haven't done a proper workout in a while and I thought I would do a type of cross fit routine. I'm gonna go do some push ups, sit ups that kind of things out here in the yard, then I'm running around the block for 30 minutes, then I'm coming back here and swim for another 30 minutes and to finish it all off, I'm jumping some rope."

She starts smiling smugly at me. "You have gained weight haven't you?"

I start fixing the armband with my iPod. "No."

She laughs. "Whatever you say, honey. Have a good workout."

I narrow my eyes at her and lean down to give her a kiss. I walk out into the yard and press play.

I have gained weight. 11 pounds. I mean, I'm not about to slit my wrists for 11 pounds, but I've always had an ideal weight and I try to maintain it. I have been eating _a lot_. I'm surprised I haven't gained more weight.

I start by stretching and letting myself get taken by the music and the workout. The playlist I put together includes Eminem, Kanye West, Jay Z, AC/DC, Toto, Asia, Led Zeppelin and Ellie Goulding. I know, completely random to include Ellie Goulding, but Claire listens to her and I want to see if I dig her music. I've heard a couple of songs, but I've never actually _heard_ her songs.

I start by doing 4 repetitions of 30. First I start with sit-ups, then push-ups, jumping jacks and finally, squads.

I feel like I'm about to have an asthma attack by the time I'm done with the first fourth of the routine. I haven't worked out properly in at least 2 and a half months. I feel very out of shape. My whole outfit is already damped. I wonder if I should just stop for today. But I decide to push through for 2 reasons. 1) If I walk into that pool house after an hour, Claire is going to have a field day with me and she will 100% know that I, have in fact, gained weight. 2) If I don't start getting in shape now, later is going to be 10 times worse.

I stretch out some more and head to the kitchen. I drink half a glass of water and grab a Gatorade bottle and head outside. I don't get too cocky with it. I start jogging, focusing on my breathing. I take sips of Gatorade every 5 minutes. Towards minute 25, I really kick it into high gear. I start running as if I had a T-Rex chasing me. I get home breathing so hard, I wonder if I might pass out.

I remember my swim shorts are in the laundry room and I go change into them, leaving all my sweaty clothes soaking in water.

My iPod and headphones are water resistant, so I jump into the pool with them. I do 15 minutes of freestyle and 15 minutes of breaststroke. I feel myself start breathing better. The water is soothing on my muscles. I get out of the water and dry myself off. Now for the last part and probably the one that is going to murder me. 10 minutes of jumping rope. I stay in my swim shorts.

Just in that moment, Ellie Goulding starts playing. 'Holding On for Life' is the name of the song that is playing. I start jumping rope then, and I immediately feel my muscles tighten up. I'm going to be so sore later.

The song has a nice beat to it. I don't know if it's necessarily a work out song, but it's definitely a nice song. The song ends and 'I Do What I Love' comes on, also from Ellie Goulding. That song is a little more club-y, the beat is a lot more marked, but again, don't know if it's a work out song. But I like it though.

The 10 minutes pass and I drop to the floor like I was just shot. My leg muscles are already hurting. Tomorrow I won't be able to move. I stand up and jump back into the pool. I float, letting myself relax. I close my eyes and focus on my breathing.

I don't know how long I was there floating on the pool. But when I feel relaxed enough, I get out and head into the pool house to have a warm bath and see if I can reduce the soreness for tomorrow.

I dry my self off as much as I can, but I'm still sweating. I hate it when that happens. I step into the pool house and Claire is still in the same place I left her.

"You had a good work out?" She asks not looking away from the screen.

"Yeah, I think I might not be able to move tomorrow, though." I say throwing the wet towel in the basket that's in the bathroom.

Claire stops typing and looks at me. Her eyes travel around my naked torso and I start smirking. "See something that you like? Cause you can come and get it."

She looks at me, moves her laptop to the side and stands up. I follow her with my eyes until her body is practically against mine. She lays her fingers against my stomach and starts moving them around. She looks up at me. "You know, one of the reasons women want to punch men sometimes, is because of how easy it for you to lose weight. It can take us months to lose 10 pounds, but men? They work out for a week and cut back on some things, and just like that they lose 15 pounds. But, I'm starting to see why women might not complain as much as we probably should."

"Why is that?" I ask getting closer to her.

She smiles seductively. "3 hours ago, your abs were nothing like they are right now."

"Yeah?"

"Uh huh."

We look at each other and we both lean forward at the same time. But this time it's different. This time, things are a little more… desperate, _hungrier_. I put my hand on the small of her back and bring her closer to me. I feel her hand behind my neck and we deepen the kiss. I pick her up and lay her on the bed. I'm getting rid of her clothes, when I remember one tiny detail.

"Whoa, wait. Your ribs." I say a little out of breath.

Also out of breath, she says. "Don't worry about that. I'll let you know if they hurt."

She pulls me back down and kisses me again. I'm not going to go into details, cause that's none of your business, but I will say this; what happened that afternoon, was one of the best moments of my life. It was so perfect; _she_ was so perfect. I guess the saying was right; good things _do_ come for those who wait.

The next day when I wake up, at first I'm all smiles, but then I go to move to my side and a groan escapes me.

"You okay?" Claire asks me laying her hand on my chest.

"I'm so sore. Everything hurts." I say through gritted teeth.

She smiles. "Thanks."

We start laughing hysterically.

About 3 days later, we go back to the hospital ready for Claire to get her cast taken off. That morning we sat down and wrote down all the questions we have to avoid any kind of conflict.

When we're called in, Claire sits down on the bed and a nurse brings Dr Fukunaga a saw. A proper saw. It looks like something out of a horror film as Dr Fukunaga tests it to see if it works correctly.

"A couple of things before I cut the cast. Expect bruising, expect for you elbow and wrist to feel stiff and the skin on your arm will be scaly and dry."

"That's it?" Claire asks jokingly.

"That's it." He replies. He grabs the saw again and asks Claire to raise her arm out and to not move.

He turns it on and starts cutting into the cast. I'm flinching like an idiot and Claire is not even blinking. You hear the moment he goes through the cast, and I'm petrified he's going to saw Claire's arm off. He does the same in two different places and then he turns the saw off.

"Okay, now I just need to cut off the remaining pieces and you'll be able to see your arm for the first time in almost 3 months, Claire."

He takes very big, long pair of scissors and starts cutting the cast off. He holds the cast in place and when he cuts the last bit of it he removes it completely.

Claire turns her head to the other side very fast and closes her eyes. "Oh my God!"

"What is it?" I don't see anything the doctor didn't mention before.

"The smell. Did something die in there?!"

Dr Fukunaga starts wiping down Claire's arm. "Well, technically the scaly skin is dead skin. So yes, something did die in there."

"I think I'm going to have to soak my arm in bleach."

"It will go away after a good scrub down, don't worry. How does that feel? Can you move your arm?"

She starts by moving her fingers. She winces a little when she tries to move her wrist, but after a few tries she manages to move it and her elbow takes her a little more time, but she also manages.

Dr Fukunaga puts her arm in a sling and tells her to do certain exercises at home, but that she'll definitely need rehabilitation for at least a month.

"We have a couple of questions about that. I have a job in Philadelphia and we want to move there as soon as possible. I was planning on getting on a plane the day after you tell me my ribs are healed. Would that be okay?"

"The rehabilitation you can do anywhere, but you have to do it. I don't see why not, to be honest. But don't push yourself too much. The flight from here to Philadelphia is not too long, so I'm not too worried. But you know how much you can and cannot do. The moment you feel discomfort, stop. But you should be okay."

She smiles. "Great. See? I told you." She tells me.

"Wait, there's more. What about her burn? How will that be treated?" I ask Dr Fukunaga.

"By now we're 100% sure her body isn't going to reject the skin graft, as you might've realized. Right now what we're doing, is making sure she scars properly. The actual burn has been treated. The skin is still sensitive, but if she continues following the treatment just like she has, I don't see why any problems would come up."

We leave the office and Claire is practically skipping to the car. "Now your majesty, may I send the email to HR?"

I look at her sideways. "Since when do you ask permission to do _anything_?"

"Pff. I'm not. I'm just making you believe that you have the final choice. It's a woman thing."

"You can do whatever your heart desires, babe."

We find ourselves a month later in our new apartment. We're unloading the truck, putting boxes in the rooms and smiling like idiots. HR from Roche gave Claire a couple of weeks to settle down before she needed to start working. At first she was somewhat annoyed, but then she realized that we have a whole apartment that needs to be taken care of and her mind started running.

"So, should we go to Ikea?" I ask Claire.

She turns around from putting down a box in the kitchen and looks at me like I'm an idiot. "We just bought a $400,000 apartment and you want to fill it with furniture from Ikea?"

I forgot who I was talking to. "You have somewhere else in mind?"

"Oh, yeah. I have a couple of places in mind."

We spend the next 5 days buying furniture. I'm not going to lie, that was my least favorite part. But it was worth it when I came home a week later from the gym to find everything put in place. Claire was standing in the middle of the living room inspecting her work.

I drop my bag and walk to stand next to her.

"Does it feel like…"

"Home." I cut her off. "It feels like home."

"It does?" She asks.

"It does. It truly feels like home."

We stand there for a minute and take it all in. This is the start. Finally.


	25. Chapter 24 - Part 1

24 – Pt. 1

This is the first time in my life I've woken up petrified by nerves. Not even in my days in the navy, knowing that it could potentially be my last, did I feel as nervous and anxious as I feel right now. I move my eyes to the window and see that it has started to snow.

We moved to Philadelphia 11 months ago. We've built a beautiful life for us here. We have even made a few good friends who we are close to.

As soon as Claire's ribs were healed up, we packed our bags and jumped on a plane. We talked to Jason about a month before moving to Philadelphia, he told us no serious offers had been made yet. So I took a quick flight there to see the apartment. We were a month away from moving, we needed a place to stay. I Skyped Claire and we were astonished at what we saw. The pictures didn't make any justice to this beautiful place. Claire agreed. We fell in love with it; so we bought the apartment as fast as we could pull out our checkbooks.

It took me about 3 weeks to find a job. Turns out having appeared on tv had its perks. Every single company I left my resume to called me for an interview immediately. At the end, I chose a job at the Philadelphia zoo. They have an amazing program for protecting endangered species and their habitats; it was a no brainer. My job there is to analyse and compare the behaviour of animals that were bread in captivity versus animals that were rescued from abusive owners. (Who the hell has a tiger as a pet?!)

Claire was completely in love with her new job. She had actually made an effort to change her workplace persona. She didn't want to be the same operations senior manager she was in Jurassic World. She's actually quite loved in the company. There was a cocktail party not too long ago and everyone was approaching her and talking to her. She smiled the whole evening. It was when we came home that evening and we had a glass of wine before we went to bed, that I knew what I wanted the next step to be.

A month later, as I lie down in bed next to Claire waiting for her to wake up, I go through all of the things we've been through together and how we've survived the bad and enjoyed the good. I remember nonna's advice, 'exploit every second you have with her.' As Claire starts to wake up, all the nervousness and anxiety float away.

I keep my left hand under the pillow and with my right one I grab a piece of her hair and tickle her cheek with it. It's longer now too, right past her shoulders.

"Mm."

"Are you awake?", I ask.

"I am now." She opens her eyes; two beautiful green orbs looking right at me. The light coming through the window enhancing the colour of her irises perfectly.

The words flow easily from my mouth. "You know? This is my favourite part of the day. Waking up besides you. And I realised about a month ago, that you're the first person I want to see when I wake up for the rest of my life."

Claire's eyes start to widen, realisation dawning on her. "What are you doing?"

"I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Claire-" I bring my left hand from under the pillow and with it, a small box. I open it to reveal an engagement ring. She gasps and sits up. She holds the bed sheets against her body to cover herself. (We had fun last night.)

I sit up as well.

"What are you doing?" she asks again.

"Will you marry me?"

"Oh my God." She covers her mouth. She looks down at the ring for a moment and then up at me. "You had to do this now?! I just woke up! You have the worst timing!"

I smile. "Is that a yes?"

I few tears run down her cheeks and she rolls her eyes. "Yes. Yes. Of course I'll marry you."

I pull the ring out of the box and put the box aside. I hold her left hand and slide the ring onto her finger. She raises her hand in front of her face and looks at the ring. "I can't believe we just did this." She looks at me and a smile starts creeping onto her face. "I love you."

"And I love you."

She launches herself on top of me and kisses me passionately. She straddles me with her legs, my hands resting on her hips. When we pull apart, we laugh and I sigh in relief. "It would've been really embarrassing for me, if you had said no."

"I think you knew there was no way I would say no."

I shrug. "Yeah, but still." There's a bit of silence and I flip us over, so Claire is now under me. Good thing we were already naked.

The next day we called all of our loved ones to let them know. My whole family was ecstatic. Mum was crying, dad was trying not to and Isabella wouldn't stop saying: 'Oh my God. You guys are getting married!' When we called nonna, she laughed when we told her the news and said she knew, from the moment I spoke Claire's name, that she was the one for me. I couldn't agree more.

Finally, we call Karen and the kids. Karen screamed when Claire showed her the ring. The kids were grinning from ear to ear.

"So you're officially uncle Owen, then?" Gray asked.

I looked at Claire and then back at them. "I guess I am, kid."

Karen bombarded us with questions. When is it going to be? _Where_ is it going to be? You need a dress. You need a band. You need food. Oh my God! Every single question that could possibly be asked, Karen asked.

The next month or so was a bit like a honeymoon stage for us. Claire and I were all up on each other. We would text each other while we were at work, we would even skype sometimes. It was unreal.

Until Claire suddenly stopped smiling as much.

One day, I just asked her. "Claire, are you okay? This last week you've been… I don't know. Somewhere else."

She sits on our bed. "I don't know. I feel weird. I'm tired _all_ the time."

I sit next to her. "Is something worrying you at work?"

She shakes her head, confused. "No. Things are going perfectly. I haven't been sleeping very well, that's all. It'll pass. Don't worry."

I frown and search her face. I can't help but think that maybe the ring it's the thing that's causing this. "Are you having second thoughts…"

I see her follow my gaze to her ring. "No. No. There are a lot of things that could be causing me to feel this way. But this…" She points to her ring. "… is _definitely_ not one of those things. I just have to figure out what it is. Okay?"

I take her hand. "Okay."

I never in my life wanted to feel again what I felt when Karen called me to tell me Claire had been in an accident. The sense that I was falling, not knowing where to hold on to. I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

A week after our short conversation, Claire came home earlier than she would on a Tuesday afternoon. At first I didn't notice, but as Claire started walking towards me, I realised how very pale she was.

I stood up immediately and walked towards her. "Claire?"

She closes her eyes and shakes her head. "Owen, I don't feel, I don't feel very go-" Her hand stretches forward as if trying to hold onto something. Everything slows down as I see Claire's knees give out from under her. I catch her before she hits the ground.

"Claire!" I lay her down on the floor trying to wake her up. When I don't succeed, I pick her up and move her to the couch. I run to the bathroom to bring alcohol and a piece of cotton. I run back to the living room and kneel down next to her. I put a hand on her forehead and hold the piece of cotton drenched in alcohol beneath her nose. At first nothing happens; panic starts creeping into my body, then I feel Claire move slightly under my hand.

"Claire? Claire, wake up. Come on, babe. Open your eyes."

She starts moving her head from side to side very slowly. I keep calling her name until she opens her eyes.

She finds my eyes and frowns. "Owen? What happened?"

I exhale in relief. "You passed out. What do you remember?"

She closes her eyes and puts a hand on her forehead. "I started feeling dizzy at work and I felt like my stomach was being flipped over. I decided to come home. I remember opening the door of the apartment, and that's it. I don't remember more."

I shake my head. "You scared the crap out of me. How are you feeling now?"

"Still a little dizzy."

"As soon as you feel a little better, we're going to the hospital. This is not normal."

She shakes her head. "That's not necessary. I just need to rest."

"No. That's what you said a week ago. We're going to the hospital. Today."

"Okay."

And that's how I know that Claire really isn't feeling well. She would've never accepted surrender so easily. The moment Claire can sit up without feeling like the whole room is spinning, we go to the hospital. We go through the ER and she's taken in immediately. I think the nurse could tell Claire might collapse if she had to stand up for one more second.

I go in with her. A nurse comes in and takes some blood. When she leaves, another nurse comes in and hooks Claire up to an IV. She's lying down on a bed, eyes closed. I sit next to her and say nothing. I just hold her hand.

About 40 minutes later, there's a knock on the door and a female doctor comes in with a chart.

"Good afternoon, I'm Dr Sánchez. I heard you lost consciousness today, Claire. How are you feeling?"

Claire raises herself up a bit. "I'm still somewhat dizzy and very tired."

She nods and looks down at the chart. "Well, there are 3 things we need to discuss here. One, you are dehydrated. That's the reason why you're dizzy and hooked to an IV. Two, your glucose levels are low. Which is the other reason you're dizzy and feel like you have no energy. You haven't been eating properly, have you?"

She shakes her head. "No, I haven't. My stomach has felt weird."

She nods again. "We'll have you feeling better soon. You won't leave here until your glucose levels go up to where they're supposed to be. And another IV bag will be coming after that one." She says pointing to the bag that's hanging from the hook.

"What's the third thing we had to discuss?", I ask.

"Oh. Let me check the chart one more time to make sure I read it correctly." She reads through it very fast. She raises her head and closes the chart. "Yep. Congratulations, Claire. You're pregnant."

I freeze and stare at the doctor. What did she just say?

"I'm sorry. What?" Did she really say what I think she just said?!

She smiles and looks between Claire and I. "She is pregnant. Her lack of sleep, feeling nauseous all the time? Those are symptoms of pregnancy. You two are going to be parents. You'll need to make an appointment with an ob/gyn; make sure everything is okay. I'll be coming back in about an hour to check up on you."

With that, she turns around and leaves the room. I look at the door for a few seconds and then turn slowly towards Claire. The look of utter terror in her face is something that I never expected to see on her. Not even crouching by the Jeep with the Indominus' mouth next to us, did I see that look.

"Claire?" I ask tentatively; trying to gauge her reaction.

Nothing. She doesn't move, she doesn't speak. I try again.

"Claire? Talk to me."

Her eyes move slowly from the wall she was staring at, to me. "Did she say that I'm, that _I_ am… pregnant?"

I nod slowly. "Yeah, that's what she said."

Her chin starts trembling and her eyes start widening. "Oh my God. Oh my God. _Oh my God!_ "

I feel the sting on the back of my shoulder from where she smacked me. "Ow! What the fu..? What was _that_ for?!" I say holding my shoulder. Wasn't she feeling weak or something?

She starts breathing hard. "I'm pregnant! You did this to me! What the hell?! Oh my God. I'm pregnant!" She covers her face with her hands and starts sobbing.

I stand up and hug her, making sure to be careful with the IV. I start rubbing her back. She presses her forehead against my chest. "What are we going to do, Owen?"

I think about this for a minute. I never really asked Claire if she ever wanted to have kids. She absolutely adores Zach and Gray, but other than them, I've never seen her look fondly at any kid or baby.

I make sure she knows it's her choice.

I swallow. "What do you want to do? Whatever you want, that's what we'll do."

She pulls away and looks at me. She doesn't wipe the tears away. "I never wanted kids."

I feel a pain that I wasn't expecting, but I control my face. This is not about me; this is about her.

She starts crying again. "Until I met you."

"What?" Does she mean…?

"Of course I want this baby, Owen. It's your baby. _Our_ baby."

At first I don't move. Our baby. She wants it. She wants it! I start grinning like a mad man. "We're having a baby? We're having a baby?!"

She starts smiling. She nods. "We're having a baby."

"Oh my God!" I put my hands behind my head. I look at Claire with utter adoration. I lean forward and kiss her. I pull away and look at her again. "We're going to be parents. Holy shit!"

Claire is smiling, crying and shaking her head. "Why do we always have to do things so fast?"

I laugh. "I don't know. But they've turned out pretty good thus far, right?"

"Yeah, I guess they have."

We stay in the ER until Claire has been given another IV bag and some food. We go make the appointment with the ob/gyn for the following day and we go home.

We wake up the next day not knowing if yesterday was a dream or not.

"It was real, right? It wasn't a very vivid dream?" I ask Claire.

"Unless we have some weird telepathic connection and we both had the same dream, then no. It was very real. I'm pregnant." She turns her face to look at me, her eyes a little wide. "That's something I never thought I'd say."

A grin overtakes my face. I pull the covers down and raise Claire's t-shirt so her stomach is bare. The scar of the surgery has faded a lot. It's a thick pink scar on her right side. It has only been 11 months since the accident; so there's still some healing to be done. But right now, I focus my attention on her stomach and the fact that our baby is in there.

"Hello, baby. This is your daddy here. I just wanted to let you know that even though we weren't expecting you, we already love you so much." I feel Claire's hand on my head. "Your mummy here reacted a little aggressively when she found out; she hit me." She pulls my hair a little. I wince lightly. "See? Once you're here, you better behave, because she'll lay down the law. No doubt about it."

"Is that going to be your plan? Making sure our child knows I'm the strict one and you the fun one?"

I look up at her. "I think those are our natural roles."

"Excuse me, I can be fun. You'll see."

"Can't wait." I kiss her stomach and we get ready to go to our appointment.

On our way there, Claire gets nervous. She says that what happened yesterday could've really screwed things up.

"What if I hurt it? It hasn't been a thing of a couple of days, Owen. I've been feeling horrible for more than a week. I haven't been eating properly. I was dehydrated for God's sake!"

"Wow! Calm down. I'm sure the baby's okay. Babies are strong. I'm sure it's okay. Calm down. Don't get stressed over things you don't even know. Okay?"

She nods. "Okay." The nervousness doesn't leave her expression.

We don't have to wait for too long before Claire's name is being called. We go into the doctor's office. Her name is Silvia Moretuzzo.

"Nice to meet you both. I'm Dr Moretuzzo." She shakes our hands. "I read your history, Claire. It said you were admitted yesterday to the ER because of low glucose levels and dehydration. Is that correct?"

Claire nods. "Yeah. I had been feeling horrible for the past week and yesterday I apparently reached my limit. I didn't know I was pregnant."

"Oh. So this is your first appointment?" Dr Moretuzzo asks.

"Yes, it is. I just want to know that everything is okay. I want to know if the baby is okay."

Dr Moretuzzo smiles. "Well, let's find out." She stands up and motions for Claire to follow her.

"Can I come too?" I ask.

"Of course. You're the father."

I smile. Yeah, I'm the father!

Claire lies down. "Raise your shirt, please." Claire does as the doctor tells her.

She pours the gel on her stomach, puts the probe against it and turns on the screen. "Okay." She starts moving it around Claire's stomach and starts pressing buttons.

"Do you see that?" she says pointing to the screen. I squint and look a little harder.

"I know I'm seeing something, but I'm not quite sure what that is. Right now it just looks like a weather system to me."

The doctor laughs. Claire doesn't. I think she just wants to know the baby is okay.

"Well, that right there; that's your baby. Just let me turns this up…" She turns a nod and the whole room becomes engulfed by this thumping sound.

"Is that…" Claire trails off.

"That's your baby's heartbeat. Your baby's doing great, Claire. It's the right size, blood pressure's good, heartbeat's good. You have nothing to worry about. You both have nothing to worry about."

I'm not sure at what moment I held Claire's hand. But that's the only thing I'm aware of as I am transfixed by our baby's heartbeat. I squeeze Claire's hand and look down at her. "I told you there was nothing to worry about."

"Yeah, I guess you were right." Her eyes are glued to the screen.

"I believe you are 7 weeks pregnant, Claire. Does that sound about right?" Dr Moretuzzo asks her.

Claire looks at her and stays quiet. Thinking. "Yeah, that sounds about right. How did I even miss that?"

"It happens. Normally that's the last thing you would think about. Well Claire, I want to see you in a month." She grabs a prescription pad and writes something down. "I want you to take this and make sure you're eating well and staying well hydrated. Keep doing your life just as before, there's no reason for you to change anything. Unless it involves something like horse back riding, of course."

She laughs. "That's not a problem. Thank you, doctor." We shake hands with her and go to the hospital's pharmacy to buy the prenatal vitamins she sent Claire.

"That was amazing. Owen – " She touches my arm lightly. We stop in the middle of the corridor. "We just heard our baby's heartbeat."

I lay my hands on her shoulders. "Yeah, we just did. I can't believe we're having a baby!"

We start jumping up and down like 2 kids who've been told they're going to the concert of their favourite band.

"Okay, let's start walking because people are looking at us weird." Claire says.

3 weeks later, it's Claire birthday. And we had invited all the family to come to Philadelphia to celebrate Claire's 35th birthday. Obviously we planned the whole thing out to also break the news to them.

"Okay, so have you decided? Are we going straight to the news or do we want to be a little more dramatic?"

"I think we should go with dramatic. Scare them a little." She puts her comb down and turns around to look at me.

"You're evil when you're pregnant."

She walks up to me. "And I like it." She starts walking past me but I hold her by the arm and pull her towards me. I kiss her and she reciprocates.

"You look beautiful."

"Am I _glowing_?" she asks teasingly.

"Yes, you are. You really are."

We hear the doorbell ring and we smile at each other. "Let the show begin."

We walk out of our bedroom and walk past the living room. I open the door to see mum, dad, Isabella and nonna. "Hey guys! Long time no see!"

"Amore, how are you? I've missed you!" She hugs me. "Where's the birthday girl?"

"I'm right here, Fran." Claire says walking up behind me.

"Happy birthday, darling." She hugs Claire and when she pulls back, she looks at her for a minute. "You look different."

I turn my head to Claire. Her eyes have widened a little but nothing she can't control. I should've known nonna would see something.

"I parted my hair to the side. I usually have it split by the middle." Claire recuperates fast. Everyone else buys her excuse, but nonna's still looking at her.

"Are you sure that's it?"

"I can't think of anything else." Claire replies.

"You look hot, sister! Happy birthday!" Isabella says hugging Claire. Nonna looks at Claire one more time and sits down on the couch.

"Thanks, Isa. I thought Alexander was coming."

"He was, but he was called last minute at work. He asked me to tell you happy birthday and that he was going to call you later today."

"I'll be waiting then."

"Here's my present, I put a lot of thought into it. I hope you like it." Claire laughs and takes her present.

"Thank you, Isa."

"Happy birthday, Red." Dad hugs Claire. He started calling her Red when he found out that Claire's favourite colour was red. He said it was an appropriate nickname. "How old are you now? 25?"

Claire laughs. "Try _35_. But I appreciate that, Ben."

"Either way you've never looked better, Claire. Happy birthday." Mum says and hugs her.

Karen and the kids arrive about 15 minutes later. We're all in the living room talking and catching up. The last time we were together like this was that time Karen and the kids went home before Claire and I moved here. We've seen them separately a couple of times before.

Claire stands up to go to the kitchen and bring more crackers, and I follow her. I look over my shoulder to make sure their attention is not on us and then I whisper to Claire, "Now?"

She smiles. "Okay. Remember, we're being dramatic."

"Yep." I grab the box of crackers and head back to the living room, Claire right behind me.

"You know Claire was in the ER 3 weeks ago?" I open the box of crackers and fill the bowl again.

"What?! What happened?" Karen asks.

We have everyone's attention now. "Yeah." Says Claire sitting down on the arm of the couch. "I had been feeling bad for about a week. I was exhausted. I couldn't sleep properly. I had these headaches and I couldn't eat food without it feeling like it was going to come right back up." She takes a cracker and eats it. As if to show them she's okay now. "So after a week of that, I was in the office and I started feeling really dizzy and that made me feel very nauseous. So I grabbed my things and drove home, which now looking back at it, it was very irresponsible."

I nod. "I had come home a little earlier because I had had a meeting, which finished a little earlier than expected. I was sitting right here in the living room, when I hear Claire come in, and at first I didn't noticed, but when she took a few steps closer to me, I saw that she was extremely pale. I stood up and she told me she wasn't feeling very well, actually she didn't even finish that sentence because she passed out in the middle of it."

Everyone gasps. "Oh my God!"

"I don't remember that at all. The only thing I remember is opening the door to the apartment and then waking up on the couch."

"Yeah, she scared the living crap out of me. Thank God I reacted fast enough and caught her before she hit the ground."

Claire looks at me. "My hero."

I wink at her. "So we went to the ER and they hooked Claire to an IV and took some blood. About 40 minutes later or something like that, a doctor comes in and tells us that Claire was very dehydrated and her glucose levels were way down. So they gave her some food to bring those numbers back up and another IV bag and then we came home."

Mum looks confused at us. "They didn't tell you what caused that? I understand the dizziness was from the dehydration and the weakness, a combination of both, but the doctor didn't tell you why you didn't feel like eating or drinking in the first place?"

Claire looks at me and then back at them. "Oh no, she told me." She starts smiling. "I'm pregnant."

Everyone gasps and then they explode.

"I knew it! You lied to my face, Claire!" nonna says with mock anger.

Claire shrugs guiltily. "Sorry, Fran. We had it all planned out. You almost busted us, though!"

"You guys are having a baby?!" Isabella asks.

I walk closer to Claire and take her hand. "Yep."

Isa starts jumping up and down. "I'm going to be an aunt?! This is so cool! Guys, congratulations!" She hugs us and gives us both a kiss on the cheek.

I see mum coming towards us, both of her hands covering her mouth. Dad is besides her, smiling and shaking his head. "You've known for 3 weeks and you tell us now?"

I shrug. "We wanted to tell you in person, _nonna_."

"Mio Dio. I guess I am a nonna now. Come here." Mum hugs me and dad walks up to Claire and hugs her too.

"You two have a very unique way of doing things, you know? You date for a month, then you decide to move in together. Now you get engaged and get pregnant."

"Tell me about it! That's what I told Owen when the doctor broke the news to us." Claire tells dad.

"I'm never having kids, Karen. Yeah, Karen. _If._ Do you picture _me_ with a baby? _Seriously?_ What else did you say, Claire? I can't remember?" Karen asks Claire teasingly.

She rolls her eyes. "Shut up."

They laugh and hug. "I'm so happy for you. You are going to be an amazing mother, Claire."

Claire tightens her hug. "Don't tell me things like that, because I'm going to start crying."

Karen pulls back and holds Claire by the shoulders. "It's the truth." Claire sniffs. "So, how far along are you?"

Claire smiles. "10 weeks."

We talked the rest of the afternoon. The happiness around us was almost tangible. During the conversation, nonna asked us if we were going to get married before or after the baby was born. We hadn't even thought about it. We know we want something simple, only our closest friends and family. We tell them we haven't decided yet.

That night, when Claire and I are lying in bed, we decide to get married before the baby is born. If what everyone tells us is true, we will barely have time to breathe once the baby is here. We might as well get married while we have time. Seeing as Claire is almost 3 months pregnant, we figure 3 months is enough time to plan things.

We are getting married in 3 months. Claire is going to be 6 months pregnant by then. And 3 months after that, we're gonna go from a family of 2, to a family of 3.

Wow.

Two weeks pass by, and Claire's 3-month appointment with the doctor arrives. We have a consistent breakfast, get changed and drive to the hospital. Claire and I have been reading a lot, and according to books, there's a chance we might find out what we're having today. A boy or a girl. We try to contain our excitement though. It's still early and Dr Moretuzzo might not be able to tell yet.

But whom are we fooling? We're basically vibrating by the time Claire's name is called.

"I see you've started to show a little bit, Claire." Dr Moretuzzo tells her as she preps the ultrasound machine.

"Yeah. That happened a couple of days ago."

I'll never forget Claire calling me into the walking closet and seeing her standing sideways in front of the mirror with her hands resting on her tiny bump. "I'm showing now."

I walked up to her, knelt and rested my hands on her bump. "This is the most amazing thing." I said.

I will never forget it.

"Well, let's see if we can figure out what you two are having." She turns on the machine and presses the probe against Claire's stomach. I see the weather system again. I wonder when I'll be able to see anything without it having to be pointed out at me.

"Okay, everything looks perfect. Heartbeat's good. The measure- Oh." Dr Moretuzzo says.

I immediately freeze. "What? Is something wrong?"

"What is it?" Claire asks, her voice a little shaky.

Dr Moretuzzo doesn't reply. Instead she moves the probe to the opposite side of Claire's stomach. She presses a button on the machine and the image freezes.

"Do you see this?" She says pointing at the screen.

I shake my head. I still can't see shit!

"It's a head. The baby's head." Claire says. Of course she can see it.

"And what do you think this is?" She says moving her finger a little more to the left.

Claire looks at the screen for a moment, eyes wide. "No." Her eyes widen even more. "No. No, no, no, no."

"What? What is it?!" Claire is clearly seeing something I'm not.

Dr Moretuzzo steps in, pointing at the screen again. "This right here. That's a head." She moves her finger to the left again. "And this right here, that's another head."

My eyes widen. "Our baby has two heads?!"

Claire groans in frustration. "Owen! There are 2 heads, because there are 2 babies! Twins! I'm pregnant with twins! Oh my God! Why do these things keep happening to me?!"

"Twins?" We are having 2 babies? _2_? Holy mother of babies!

I don't know why, but I start laughing.

"Are you kidding me?! You think this is funny?!" Claire asks mortified.

I shake my head, but keep laughing. "No, I just – This is so _us._ Of course this happens to us!"

Claire is looking at me, shaking her head, eyes wide. She rests her head back on the headrest and closes her eyes. "They're both doing okay, right?" Claire asks Dr Moretuzzo.

"Yes. Yes, they are. As healthy as can be. You two still want to know what you're having? Because I have a pretty good view from here." She says smiling at us.

"You still want to know?" I sit down on a stool by Claire's side and hold her hand.

"Yes, I want to know! I don't want any more surprises!"

I look at Dr Moretuzzo. "We want to know."

"Well, the baby at the front… is a girl."

A girl. "We have a daughter." Claire squeezes my hand.

"And the one who was hiding… is a boy."

Claire rolls her eyes. "Of course it's a boy! Just like his father, finding ways to annoy me!"

She starts laughing then. Now she gets what I mean. This kind of thing would only _happen_ to us. And I couldn't be more grateful.

"I want to see you in a month, Claire. You're doing great too. Keep doing whatever it is that you're doing." Dr Moretuzzo tells her. "Congratulations."

As we drive home, I realise something. "We're going to have to move. We don't have space for 2 kids. I mean, not right now, both babies can sleep in the same room, but after, they're going to need their own space."

Claire deflates a little. "I really love our apartment. But I guess you're right. If both babies were girls, or both were boys maybe we could've made them sleep in the same room for a while."

"We don't have to worry about that now. But it's something to have in mind. Once the babies are older and we see they should both have their own space, then we'll start looking."

Claire exhales loudly. "Babies. How did that even happen? Do you have twins in your family?"

I think and shake my head slowly. "I don't think so. None I've heard of at least. I could ask mum and dad. How about you?"

"No. Neither of my parents ever mentioned having twins in the family. This was just a completely random thing, then? You had to go ahead and be an overachiever!"

"Hey, it's not my fault I have fast swimmers." I cackle.

"Ugh! You're so annoying. I swear you're never touching me again."

My eyes widen. "What? Why are you punishing me?! I have no control over my swimmers!"

"Stop saying 'swimmers'. It sounds horrible! And that's what you get for doing this to me. I'm going to have 2 human babies coming out of me! Oh my God, I'm going to get so fat!"

I stop at a red light. "You're not going to get fat. The babies are going to get bigger. Slight difference." I turn down the music. "You know? In my eyes, you're a goddess. You are making not one, but _two_ human beings. That's unbelievable! I can only imagine how you're going to feel when you hit your third trimester, but I'm going to be there. If you want some weird, random thing to eat in the middle of the night; I'll go get it."

The light changes to green and I step off the brake.

"If you want me to massage your feet for 2 hours; I will do that. Whatever you need, I'm going to be right there."

"I know you're going to be there. It's just…" she huffs. "It's a huge surprise. I'm scared, to be honest. Before, I thought I had one tiny human who was 100% dependent of me, and know I have two. I'm scared I'm going to screw up."

I stop the car, cause I feel it's important for her to understand that the babies are healthy and safe _because_ of her. I turn off the ignition and turn fully to her.

"I trust you 150%. I know you and I know you are going to take care of those babies and protect them fiercely. You heard the doctor, you are doing great. I see no reason why you should worry. You, Claire Dearing, are going to be the best mother. I know that. So please, don't stress over this. The only thing you should be worrying about, is getting all the stuff we're going to need to welcome these 2 babies and, actually before you start worrying about that, we should really start thinking about our wedding and how we're going to break the news to everyone."

She smiles at me. "The only reason I'm not a complete mess right now, is because of you. But you're right. If anything is going to screw things up, is me stressing over this. And I actually have some ideas for our wedding. You want to hear them out?"

I smile and nod. "Duh. Shoot." I start the car again and drive home.

Since we're definitely getting married in 3 months, we've decided to have a small engagement party in one month. There, we will deliver the news to everyone. For our actual wedding, Claire had seen in a magazine this place on the countryside of Philly, which is beautiful. It's called Chestnut Hill and it's all green and spectacular. No buildings near by, no cars nothing. Just nature. Since neither of us is religious, we don't see the point of getting married in a church.

We contacted the company that rents these states with the acres of land. And as luck would have it, they only had one available day left before it was all completely booked for the year. We booked it immediately.

We're getting married on April 7th.


	26. Chapter 24 - Part 2

24 - Pt. 2

We send a mass email to our friends and family. We have a total of 80 people coming to our wedding. It's going to be small, but awesome!

2 weeks before our engagement party, it's the middle of the night and I lie awake in bed thinking of all the things we have to do in such a short time, when I feel Claire gasp and sit up abruptly. She's breathing fast and her hand goes to rest on her belly.

"Claire, what's going on? Are you okay?" I ask nervous not knowing what made her react like this. I turn on the night lamp. "Claire."

"They moved."

"What?" What moved?

She turns to look at me. "The babies, I can feel them move." She takes my hand and rests it on the side of her distended stomach. At first I feel nothing, but then I feel something push my hand. My eyes widen as much as hers.

"Oh, wow. You guys are saying hello?" I laugh. "I thought it was still early for you to feel them move. How does that feel?" I ask Claire.

A smile starts creeping onto her face. "Well, there are 2 of them. There's less space. It feels weird, like… butterflies, but stronger. It startled me. Did I wake you?"

My hand is still resting on her stomach. I shake my head. "No, I was already awake. I was thinking of all the things we have to get for you, guys." I lean forward and kiss the place where I feel them move.

Claire lies back down and I copy her movements. "When do you think we should start buying everything?"

I think it over for a minute. "We have a lot of things to think about right now. With the wedding and all. Maybe we could make a list with all the baby things. Each week we buy something and we scratch it off the list. That way we only focus on one thing at the time."

She turns to look at me. "I think my organization skills have rubbed off on you. I like it."

"It was bound to happen at some point." I lean forward and kiss her.

The next 2 weeks pass by in a blink of an eye. Before I know it, Claire and I are buying new clothes to wear for our engagement party. Claire had a bit of a melt down when she realized she would have to buy maternity clothes soon. At 4 months pregnant, she can't close her jeans without having to make some acrobatics. It's driving her nuts.

The building we live in has an entertainment area, so we booked it for the day and that's were our party will be. Out of the 80 people we invited to our wedding, 55 could make it to the engagement party, which is awesome considering the short notice.

As soon as we sent all the invites, nonna called and told us that her engagement present would be to provide the food. We told her that it wasn't necessary, but she insisted. She said that organizing a party was stressful enough and the last thing Claire needed right now was stress. I couldn't disagree with her there.

A lot of our friends don't know Claire is pregnant, including her friends at work and mine. She's showing now, but her bump is small enough to cover it with baggy clothes. Since it's winter, it wasn't very hard for her to hide her bump under coats or loose sweaters. We waited the customary 3 months to make sure everything went well, and now on month 4, it's time to announce it to the world.

"Have you thought of names?" I ask Claire while we're driving back from the supermarket.

"Yes and no. I haven't thought of names now, but I had moments before where I would allow myself to think of what my life would be like if I ever had a kid. And in my mind, for some reason, I always thought I would have a girl. I have this one name that I've always loved and I told myself that if I ever had a daughter, I would name her that."

I look at her expectantly. "Well? What is it?"

She bites down on her lip. "I don't want to say."

I frown. "What? Why not?"

"Because I know you. I just told you that I love that name, so you're going to want to name our daughter that, and what if it doesn't fit her?"

I look at her for a moment. "I never understood why people say that. Okay, let me give you an explanation of why I think any names we pick will fit our kids. Okay?"

"Okay."

"So let's imagine we're at home, and we are sitting on the floor of our bedroom playing with both our babies, okay? And we decide to give them a piece of paper and a crayon each for them to draw something. What's going to make whatever they draw, special? The piece of paper and crayon we gave them? Or the fact that _they_ drew it?"

"The fact that they drew it." She answers without missing a beat.

"Do you see were I'm going with this?"

"I think so. But explain anyway."

"What I mean is, it doesn't matter what name we give our babies, because at the end of the day, they're are going to be their own person. They're going to put their own… _thing_ to their names, you know? I'll give you a more specific example. If I say 'Ellen', what's the first face that comes to your mind?"

"Ellen Degeneres."

"Exactly! And I was expecting you to say that, because she has singled herself out from everyone by the things she's done. It's going to be the same for our kids. They are going to do their own thing and that's going to single them out from everyone else. And their names is not going to change that."

She laughs softly. "You really thought that through."

I shrug. "It always bothered me, when people say that a name is not going to fit their baby. The baby is a new person; any name is going to fit. Now, it's a completely different thing if you want the baby's name to sound nice with your last name." I open the gate to the apartment building. "Speaking of, is it going to be Grady-Dearing?"

She wrinkles her nose. "I don't like the sound of that. Not even Dearing-Grady. It's the 'ing' and 'y' that messes everything up. I think we should go with just Grady."

I park the car in our assigned spot. "Really? It doesn't bother you?"

She shakes her head. "No, it doesn't. Plus, now that we're on the subject of last names, I'm not going to change my name when we get married." She says it as if she doesn't care, but I can tell she's afraid I'm going to react badly to this.

I look at her and bark out a laugh. "I wasn't expecting you too. Claire Dearing means something to people. _You_ made your own person. Why would you change it to Claire Grady? It doesn't have the same ring to it. Claire Dearing is a powerful name and I want our kids to know Claire Dearing, not Claire Grady."

She's smiling. "So you're going to be a modern husband, huh?"

I shrug. "You already make more money than I do. Win for feminism."

Claire shakes her head and goes to open the car door, but I lock it quickly. "What are you doing?"

I open my eyes wide to her. "You haven't told me the name. I'm not opening the doors until you tell me the name."

She exhales loudly. 'Fine. The name is…"

When I heard the name, I knew it was the name for our girl. It just flowed so well and it matches the last name perfectly too. At first she didn't believe me when I told her I loved it. So I just said it over and over again. Claire's whole expression changed when I wouldn't stop repeating it. I don't think she had thought to say the complete name out loud. Once she did, we decided we had a name for our daughter. Now we have to find a name for our boy!

I unload the boxes and put them all in the kitchen. I make some popcorn and sit on the couch with Claire and look for a movie to watch. "Should we make the list now?"

"Babies' list?" Claire asks popping some popcorn in her mouth.

"Yeah. I can pick you up from work on Monday and we'll go buy the first thing on the list. Or we can wait until the weekend. What do you think?"

"Mm. No, I think Monday is good. The weekends are already good. Maybe we should make Mondays fun. Look forward to them."

I nod. "Okay then. Let me get my tablet."

I give Claire the bowl of popcorn and stand up. I go to our room to get my tablet and a memory pops into my head; a childhood memory. When I was 12 this little kid was been bullied. Kids a couple of years older than him had broken this little kid's bike and were throwing his books at him. I remember he had a cut above his eyebrow and silent tears were coming down his cheeks as he took the beating. I recall the blinding anger I felt; I went over to them and beat the living crap out of them. Of course there were 3 against me and they manage to hit me 2 or 3 times. When the bullies left, I went to the kid, who couldn't have been more than 6 years old and asked him if he was okay. He told me that he had received worse and thanked me. When I asked him why he didn't try to at least scream, he said that they were bothering his sister, and if taking a beating was going to make them leave her alone, then he didn't mind. I remember this kid's name.

I grab the tablet and go back to the living room. I grab the control remote and pause the movie. I sit back down and Claire looks at me.

"I just remembered something, and I want to tell you the story."

"Okay." She says slowly.

I start telling her the story, and as I get to the end, her hands go to her belly unconsciously. "He took a cruel beating to protect his sister?"

"Yeah." I look at her to see if she's thinking the same thing I am.

"He has a beautiful name." She says looking down at her belly.

"Are you thinking the same thing I'm thinking?" I ask her.

"Yeah, I think I am."

Just like that, in a matter of hours, both our babies have names.

The next day, we wake up early to make sure everything is ready to go. Isabella texted me yesterday at night to tell us that Alexander and her were already in Philly. Nonna and my parents were arriving today in the morning and Karen and the kids should be landing in Philly any minute now.

"Ms Dearing, at what time should we bring the food out?"

"The party starts at 7pm, let's give everyone about half an hour to get here, and then you guys can bring the food out. So, 7:30pm. The drinks though, those start passing them around as soon as the guests arrive."

He nods. "Yes, Ms Dearing."

"Thank you, Ted."

Claire turns around and starts scanning everything, mumbling to herself. I come up behind her and hug her. I give her a kiss on the cheek. "Where do you want me? Do you need anything?"

She rests her head on my shoulder. "Can you get me something to eat? I'm starving."

I frown. "We had breakfast two hours ag-"

"Oh my God, don't finish that sentence!"

I chuckle. "Okay, sorry. Protein bar sound good?"

"Protein bar sounds perfect. Thank you."

I give her another kiss and let go of her. She goes back to talking to the small staff we hired to help us out tonight. I go back to our apartment to grab Claire her protein bar when I remember the present I bought her. A couple of days ago, I sneaked out while Claire was taking a nap and went to roam the streets for a present. I wanted to give her something to commemorate the special event; and I don't mean the engagement party, I mean her pregnancy. She's giving me the 2 best things I could ask for, I feel this is the least I could do.

I open the cabinet next to all of my video games and pull out the box. After about 40 minutes of just walking around, I had almost given up, when I walked by a jewellery store and went in just in case.

I walked around and saw nothing that represented this stage of our lives. I was about to walk out, when an older woman, an employee, asked me if I needed help with anything. I told her about the babies and she smiled at me and asked me to wait for a moment. She went to the back of the store and brought back with her a gold bracelet. At first I didn't see what was so special about a simple gold bracelet, but then she showed me two pendants. One of a boy and one of a girl. Very simple designs, nothing over the top. Very simple.

"Have you two picked out names? You could have them engraved at the back of each pendant."

"Yes, we have."

I knew then, that was the perfect present. I bought it and came home just in time before Claire woke up. I picked it up the following week on my way home from work.

Now, as I look at it, I realise how badly I want to meet our kids. I want them to be here already. I close the box and take it to our bedroom. I leave it on top of Claire's pillow. I run back down to the entertainment area and see that Claire has everything pretty much in place.

"Here." I hand her the protein bar.

"Thank you." She gives me a kiss.

"Everything looks pretty much ready here. Is there anything else that needs to be done?" I ask her.

She shakes her head. "No. Everything has been doubled checked. I think we're done here."

"Awesome. What do you want to do now?"

"Put my feet up because they're killing me."

I offer her my arm. "Well, let's go then."

We walk to the elevator and head to the apartment.

"Is it just me or is time flying by?" Claire asks when we step off the elevator.

"It is. But I don't mind. It means the day we get married and the day the babies are born is going to come faster."

She smiles. "Yeah, I know. But I'm afraid we're going to blink and the kids are going to be going to college, you know?"

I nod. "Yeah, that's probably true also. But we'll take it one day at a time. Until they go to college, those are a lot of days."

"Yeah. I don't even know why I'm worrying about that. They haven't even been born yet!"

I pull out the keys to open the door. "That's because you love them already."

I open the door and step aside so Claire can walk in first. "Yes, I do."

I step in after Claire and close the door. "Hey, do you want anything else?"

"Glass of water, please." She takes off her shoes, bents down to pick them up and walks to our bedroom.

As I pour some water into a glass, I hear Claire's steps coming from the bedroom.

"What's this?" She asks softly.

I hand her the glass with water. "For you. A little something to thank you for the amazing gifts you're giving me."

She smiles. "Owen, you don't have to get me anything."

I shrug. "Too late, I already bought it."

She shakes her head and opens the box. She gasps. "Oh, Owen." She pulls the bracelet out of the box and looks at it. "It's so beautiful."

I nod towards the bracelet. "Turn it around."

She does and when she sees the names, she sighs. "It's perfect. I love it. I take it back, you can get me everything you like. Thank you."

She walks up to me and kisses me.

She pulls back and slides her left hand inside the bracelet. She lifts her arm so she can look at it better. "Do you think I should wear it tonight?"

"If you want, but won't our guests figure out we're having twins before we deliver the news?"

She huffs. "I'm wearing a dress that's hugging my figure. Their eyes won't be on my wrist, but on this." She says pointing to her bump.

I nod. "True."

As 7pm approaches, we change into our brand new clothes and we go down to the entertainment area. Guests have started to arrive and we greet them one by one.

Claire is still wearing her coat. We had to walk through an open area to get here, so nobody questions the fact that she's wearing one.

We see Alex and Isa walk in hand in hand. She looks beautiful as always. As soon as she sees us her smile widens and she pulls Alex forward.

"Bro! Sis!" She hugs us.

"Guys, congratulations on the b-!" Alex says.

"Shh. Nobody knows yet, just family." Claire whispers to him.

"Oh. Wouldn't _that_ have been awkward?" He laughs. "Well, congratulations on everything." He says and hugs us both.

All of the guests arrive within then next 40 minutes, including all of our family. Claire and I look at each other and nod.

Now's the time.

We walk to the opposite side of the entrance and because we're moving together, everyone's eyes follow us. I look at Claire and then to our guests.

"First of all, thank you so much for coming in such short notice. We love you more for that."

Everyone laughs and nods.

"Only our family knows this, but now we want to share the news with everyone. Claire, do the honours please."

Claire smiles. "I'm pregnant." She takes off her coat and everyone gasps. Applause and hoots can be heard all over the place. I raise my hand to silence them.

"Now, there's something else. We found out what we're having. You guys want to know?" I ask.

"Yeah!" Everyone answers.

"We are having… a boy!" I say.

There's a chorus of aws.

Claire raises her forefinger and smirks. "And a girl."

Everyone gasps and Karen can be heard laughing hysterically. She's so enjoying the fact that Claire didn't want to have kids for so long and now, she's having 2.

All of our friends start congratulating us and wishing us the best.

Mum, dad and nonna walk to us and hug us. "You two should play the lottery. You always have improbable things happen to you!" mum tells us.

"I wonder if that will ever stop." Claire tells her.

Mum shakes her head. "It probably won't."

Nonna steps forward. "Enjoy this time together, cause you definitely won't later!" She starts laughing.

"Don't remind me! This next 6 months will probably be the last time we sleep properly." I tell nonna.

"Oh Owen, I wish you a son just like you." Dad tells me.

Claire frowns. "I don't think I like the sound of that."

Dad barks out a laugh. "No, you shouldn't! Someday I'll tell you the story of when Owen covered Phillip in marmalade and tied him up on the fence and sent the dogs loose on him."

Claire's eyes widen. "You did what?!"

I rub the back of my neck. "He was annoying me."

"Oh my God, I'm so screwed." She says.

I sigh. "Yeah, you probably are…"

Phillip couldn't make it to our engagement party and he was pretty pissed off about that. The next day after our party though, we get a call from the gate telling us we have a delivery and if we should let the delivery guy up. Claire and I look at each other confused and we tell the gatekeeper 'yes'.

"Did you order something?" I ask Claire.

"No, I didn't."

The doorbell rings and I open the door, and there isn't one delivery guy; there are 3.

"Hey." I look at the 3 guys a little confused. They are all carrying a huge basket each.

"Is this the Grady residence?" The one at the front says.

I nod slowly. "Yes, it is."

"Great. Where can we put this?" He asks me. And that's when I realize the 3 of them are actually sweating. Those must be heavy.

"Oh, sorry guys. Come on in, you can put it on the table over there."

The 3 of them walk in and place the baskets with a thud on the table.

"This is a delivery from Mr Phillip Bentham." He pulls out from his back pocket a flash drive, an envelope and a piece of paper. "And he told us, to uh…" he opens the piece of paper. "… to read this to you. He says: Dear Moron & lovely Claire…"

Claire laughs and the 3 delivery guys try to contain their laughter. He continues.

"I'm sorry I couldn't be there yesterday. I'm sure you two had a blast. The delivery guys should hand you a flash drive and an envelope…" He stretches out his hand and gives me both the envelope and the flash drive. "… in the flash drive, I explain what happened at my restaurant yesterday and what's in the basket and the envelope. P.S Do NOT watch this video in a laptop, watch this on an HD TV cause that's what my face deserves."

I nod. "Is there anything else he asked you to do? Slap me on the face or anything along those lines?"

He shakes his head. "No, sir. That's it. Have a good afternoon." They nod at Claire and I, and walk to the door.

I pull a 20 from my wallet and give it to them. "Thank you."

I close the door and Claire laughs again. "I love Phillip."

"Of course you do. He loves to embarrass me!"

"Well, you did tell me it was his hobby."

I motion for Claire to sit on the couch in front of the TV. "Come on. Let's see what our lovely friend has to say."

I walk over to the TV and look for the USB outlets. I connect the flash drive and sit next to Claire. I press play.

"You better be watching on an HD TV, you piece of shit!"

"Goddammit. I am! This dude, man!" I say pointing to the TV.

"Shh, let me listen to what he has to say." Claire says.

I stop talking and we watch Phillip. "About 3 months ago, someone called to make a reservation for a private dinning room for yesterday, okay? When Sandra, she's in charge of the reservations, asked under what name they should write the reservation to, they said Giselle Carter." He looks straight at us, or the camera actually. "Nothing, right? That name means nothing to you. And it didn't to me either. Turns out, 4 days ago we get another call to the restaurant, same person who made the reservation for Giselle Carter, this was a man calling by the way, and he asked us if everything was okay with the reservation. Sandra assured him that their private dinning room was booked under the name they had given her and to not worry about it. Now, and this is the cool part, Claire please, open the envelope and read it out loud. It's addressed to you both, but Owen has never been a good reader. You can pause the video here."

I shake my head and pause the video as instructed. I hand Claire the envelope and she starts opening it.

"I'm getting kind of anxious now." She pulls the letter from the envelope and starts reading.

"Dear Claire and Owen, chef Phillip tells me you are both expecting twins. Congratulations! I wish you both the best and good luck with those two babies. Claire, I saw you on the news, and wow am I impressed by you leading that dinosaur out of its cage. You're the embodiment of girl power! Owen, you're lucky you found such a strong, fierce woman. Good luck with everything. Love, Beyoncé."

My eyes widen. "What?!"

"Oh my God! Beyoncé wrote us a letter?! Beyoncé knows who _I am_?! Phillip! Press play, press play!"

I press play, still in shock that he did that for us. "You read it? I know, I'm awesome! If this doesn't get me the spot of godfather, I don't know what will! Anyway, Jay Z and Beyoncé show up in my restaurant, everyone is in shock to even realize the _magnitude_ of their presence, right? But thank God nobody fangirled in front of them. So, they get taken to their private room, the one you guys where in actually, and by the time they're done, they ask to talk to me. So I go, and they were delighted by the food, _obviously,_ and they tell me that they are definitely coming back for more as soon as they can get a reservation in. I, in that moment, think about you guys, cause I felt terrible for not going, and I tell them I'm glad they liked the food, cause I was worried I was going to screw up because my mind was in Philly. And they are being super nice, and they asked me 'why is that?' and I tell them about you two. So, Beyoncé, she's like 'I bet they really wanted you there.' And I went, 'of course, I'm the life of the party' and they laughed, which was _awesome_. And I tell them who you are and they both recognized your names from the news. And then Beyoncé, she's like 'I want to write them a small note, would you mind?' And I'm like, 'No, I wouldn't mind, _Beyoncé_.' So she writes you two the note and hands it to me and she told me, to tell _you_ Claire, and I quote 'tell her to take the drugs.' So yeah, that's what I was doing yesterday and the reason I couldn't go to your party. Am I forgiven?" He bats his eyelashes at us.

"Oh my God, Phillip! He's definitely going to be godfather of our children!" Claire says looking down at the letter again.

I nod slowly. "Yeah, he definitely is." The video continues.

"Okay, so that explains the letter. Now, the baskets…"

"Oh right, I forgot about the baskets!" Claire says turning to look at them.

"Brother, you called me to tell me you are having twins, you tell me it's a boy and a girl, but you refuse to tell me their names, which annoys me, because I wanted to personalize shit! But whatever. There are 3 baskets, one is for the boy, one is for the girl and one is for Claire, and you don't deserve anything. She's doing all the hard work, man!"

We laugh at that. "That's true." I say.

"I hope you like what I got the babies and I hope you like what I got you, Claire. I'll definitely by seeing you guys for the wedding. I wouldn't miss it for the world. Love you, guys. Peace!"

The screen goes to black and we sit there for a moment staring at it.

"He really is an amazing person." Claire says.

"Yes, he is."

We stand up and look at the baskets. We both melt when we see the baby clothes and toys he got for the kids. We laugh out loud when we start reading what the onesies say. Claire's favourite one was one that said 'my mum is hot, but my dad is Owen.' My favourite one was 'Straight Outta Momma.'

Claire opens her basket and she almost passes out. In it were chocolates, bread and what looked like a couple of bottles of wine. At first we were confused, but then we found a letter inside the basket that read: 'These are the same chocolates I gave you guys when you went to the restaurant. Peruvian and Ivorian chocolates for the lady to enjoy. I've also included the best non alcoholic wine there is, so you know, basically grape juice, but the finest of them all. And I was told by Graham (your waiter, remember?) that you loved the bread, so I tweaked the recipe a little and they are completely safe for you to eat. Enjoy lovely Claire!'

"Where's my cell phone? I need to call this man, right now." Claire says.

We talked to Phillip for hours. We laughed so hard, I got worried the babies might be born in that moment.

As weeks start to pass by, Claire's belly starts to grow and grow… and grow. She's 6 months pregnant and we're getting married in a week. A couple of days ago we were talking to Karen on Skype, and when Claire went to the bathroom, Karen told me her belly had been that big when she was _8_ months pregnant with both Zach and Gray. I begged her to never repeat those words again. Claire had days were she was moody, mainly at the fact that she couldn't work at the same pace she was used to; moving around all the time exhausted her faster than before.

I wince when I think of what will happen in month 7 and 8. It definitely won't be an enjoyable experience for Claire, but I don't think mine will be a walk in the park either.

"Have you thought about when you are going to take your maternity leave?" I ask Claire one Friday night.

"Technically, I can start next week. The maternity leave starts 11 weeks before the birth. I don't know. What am I going to do all day here? I think I should work until my body can't take it anymore." She tells me.

"I would prefer you stop working a little before that happens. I think month 8 is a good moment to stop. It's your decision, but please don't push yourself too much."

"I won't. I promise."

I turn off the TV and turn to look at her. "There's a little matter we haven't discussed, and we're getting married in a week."

She frowns, thinking. "What is it?"

"Where are we going to spend our honeymoon?"

Her eyes widen. "Oh my God, I completely forgot."

"I was thinking in going to the Swiss Alps, since it's your favourite place, but I don't know if you can fly or, _want_ to fly to Switzerland." I say.

She hums. "Oh, the Swiss Alps! How I wish we could be there right now. But I don't think I can fly there, Owen. Look at me, I'm huge!"

I rub her belly. "We'll call Dr Moretuzzo and ask her, but if she says you can't go, what should we do? Should we just postpone it?"

"Until when? Until they're 18?"

I laugh. "Yeah, I guess you have a point there. We could look for somewhere to go in Pennsylvania, and have our real honeymoon when we find a moment. What do you say?"

She smiles and nods. "I like the sound of that."

I grab my laptop and we immediately start looking for a cool place in Pennsylvania. We research for a little bit, before we find this place in Poconos called Skytop Lodge. It's in the middle of nature and it is so ridiculously beautiful, we cross our fingers as we go to make the reservation.

Only the most expensive room is available, but since it's our honeymoon, we don't measure ourselves. We pay for it and we have a place to spend our honeymoon in for 4 days.

"Okay. See you tomorrow then." I tell Claire.

"See you tomorrow." I lean down to pick up my bag and walk towards the apartment door. "Does this feel like –"

"A chapter is ending and another one is beginning?" Claire _literally_ finishes my sentence.

"Yeah."

She nods. "Yeah, but I think the next chapter is were all the interesting things are going to happen."

I laugh. "Yeah, I think so too." I put my bag down and kiss Claire. She was right when she told me 2 months ago that time was flying by.

We pull apart and we hug. "I can't believe we're getting married tomorrow."

"I know. Tomorrow I'm going to be Mrs Owen Grady." She smiles.

"And I'm going to be Mr Claire Dearing." We laugh. I give her one last kiss and I walk out the door.

I take a cab to the Hotel Palomar, where all my groomsmen are waiting for me. I have 3 groomsmen, Phillip, Barry and Alex.

I've thought of this before, but I can't stop repeating it to myself. I never thought that I would be this person. I never thought I would get married or have kids. I especially didn't think I would marry a woman who I disliked strongly at first. But I will be eternally grateful that I was proven wrong.

The first thing that Claire and I bought for the babies were the cribs. We wanted to have a sense of space, and the cribs were something that we definitely needed. When they were delivered to us about 6 days ago, that thought hit me again. I, Owen Grady, am arranging cribs for my babies with my fiancé by my side. Go back 10 years and tell me this would be me in the future, and I would've laughed out loud in your face.

Now, as I step off the cab and head inside the hotel, I realize that I would've become eventually lost without Claire. Every major change in my life happened because of her. I think I was never happy with anyone I ever dated because what I needed could only be given to me by Claire. I honestly believe we were meant to be, even if at the beginning it didn't look like it.

Looking back, now I know why I told Claire we should stay together for survival. At the time, I don't think I realized what I meant by that, but now I know, I couldn't have survived without her.

That's why when we went to buy our wedding rings, I pretended to forget my credit card and I went back to the store and slipped the jeweller a note. I asked him to engrave 'for survival' in our rings.

I open the door and see Phillip, Barry and Alex talking to each other.

"My groomsmen!" I say closing the door.

"Hey! There he is! Brother!" Phillip walks over to me. I drop my bag at my feet and hug him.

"It's good to see you, man!"

"No time no see, mon ami. Congratulations, Owen!" Barry says. We hug too.

I haven't seen Barry since we left the island. We've talked on the phone a lot, but I knew the moment Claire and I set a date for our wedding, that I wanted Barry right besides me with Phil and Alex.

"Dude, I see you look chill. That's good. How are the babies and Claire?" Alex asks.

"They are great. The babies are moving, kicking and punching and Claire couldn't be more annoyed. It's all happiness." They all laugh.

"Everything is ready, brother. The guys and I decided to divide and conquer. Alex got your tux, Barry picked up the rings and I went to Staples and bought a notepad, because I know you and I know you haven't written your vows."

I shake my head. "No, I haven't. But I actually know exactly what I'm going to say. I just need to write it down."

He walks to the coffee table, picks up the notepad and throws it at me. "Go ahead then. Before it leaves your mind."

I write down my vows and it flows so easily, I'm surprised by the time I'm done. I hand it to Phillip, and Barry and Alex gather around him to read it.

"Brother, that's-"

"Incroyable." Barry finishes for him.

"Yeah, that." Phillip says.

Alex looks up at me. "You are going to make her cry."

"Probably. But have no doubt in your mind she's probably going to make _me_ cry. Particularly with the babies in between the both of us."

Phillip gives me back the notepad and I rip out the page I wrote.

"What do we do now? Netflix and chill?" Alex asks.

I look at Barry and Phillip and they nod. "What the hell. Why not? But let's order some beer first." Phillip says.

And drink some beer we do.

The next day I wake up and lie in bed for a little bit. I'm getting married today. It's weird, I realize, that I feel completely calm. But is it weird, though? I've lived with Claire for more than a year now. I know her, she knows me, we know every little detail about each other. Why would getting married change that? We're just officialising things; actually, we're just legalizing things. It's been official for a long time.

I'm nervous about becoming a father. I don't want to screw up. But despite all the nervousness about becoming a father, I know the kids are going to be just fine. I have Claire by my side; the woman is a bank of information, we'll figure out what to do. Plus we don't have a shortage of people who will help us.

I hear my bedroom door open very carefully and I see Phillip walking in very quietly with a glass of water in hand. He closes the door silently and turns around. When we make eye contact, he looks at me bored.

"Aw, shit! You're awake! I was really looking forward to waking you up like the old days!" He says pointing to the glass of water.

"Not today, Phil." I say cockily.

He puts the glass down and walks to the foot of the bed. "So, today's the big day. How are you feeling?"

"Pretty calm, but very excited." I say sitting up.

He nods. "Good. Then get the fuck up. It's 9am, we have to be there at 11am and we don't know how the traffic is going to be. Why did you two choose a noon wedding, again? Are you both 100?"

I rub my face and look at him. "No, we're not. But she _is_ pregnant with twins. It's not like she can party till the am."

"Oh, right. I have no idea how the body of a pregnant woman works."

"Obviously. Maybe you will someday." I walk to the bathroom and wash my face.

"No, I won't. I plan to be the cool uncle. Your kids will love me more than they will love you. I want to have fun with the kids. I don't want to have to be the disciplinarian. Ever." He knocks on wood.

"Okay." I smile at him.

We get ready and the guys and I go have breakfast.

About two weeks after Claire and I booked the state we're going to get married in, we started brainstorming about everything. Food, music, sitting arrangements, everything. 2 hours later, we almost started ripping our own hair out. There were so many details that had to be addressed; it was overwhelming. In the end, Claire and I hired a wedding planner. We gave her a budget, told her we had the venue and a guests list and let her do all the hard work, while Claire and I took care of all the babies' things.

One afternoon, the wedding planner (Grace, is her name) called us to ask us which song we were going to choose for our first dance as husband and wife; Claire and I looked at each other blankly and told Grace we would call her in a little bit while we thought about it.

"We don't have a song. Do we?" Claire asks me.

I think for a minute about that one. "I don't think we do, no. Do we choose some random song?"

Claire winces a little. "I don't know. Isn't the song supposed to be meaningful?"

"Well, yeah, but if we don't have one…"

We think for a bit, trying to figure out if there was ever a song that was always playing in the background.

There's smoke coming off of our heads by the time we decide that no, we don't have a song.

"Maybe we _do_ have one, but we haven't realised it yet." Claire says.

I frown. "What do you mean?"

"Maybe we need a change in perspective. Call Isa, she's the musical one. Maybe she's _seen_ the song or something." She says reaching for her cell phone.

I raise an eyebrow. " _Seen_ the song? Since when are you so poetic?"

She hits me in the arm with the back of her hand. "Don't tease me. You know what I mean."

She looks for Isa in her contacts, calls her and puts her on speakerphone.

"Hey, Claire!"

"Hi, Isa. How are you?" Claire asks

"Good! How have you been feeling? My niece and nephew?"

We smile at that. "Well, I'm exhausted and hungry all the time and they keep moving, not letting me sleep."

She laughs. "Sleep is for the weak, sis!"

"Ha! I'm gonna love repeating that to you when you have babies!" Claire tells her.

"And I'm sure I'm going to be pissed off when you do!"

"You will. Trust me. Hey, Owen and I want to ask you something."

"Sure. Shoot."

Claire looks at me and motions for me to tell her. "Hey, Isa. So, Grace just called us and asked us about what song we are going to dance to for our first dance as husband and wife, and we've been thinking for a while now, and we can't think of one that means anything to us. So, we wanted to know if you have… _seen_ our song?"

Claire laughs softly.

"You mean what's the first song that pops into my head when I think about you two?" She asks.

I look at Claire and nod. "Yes."

"Thriller."

We both frown. "What?"

She starts laughing, "I'm kidding! You two are so easy. Um, let me think…"

I roll my eyes and shake my head. Thriller? That's funny.

"Sorry guys, from the top of my head, no. I can't think of any song in particular. When do you need to give her an answer?"

"She didn't say, but I'm assuming in a week or so, why?" I ask.

"I can look up a song for you if you want. I'm sure I'll find something. There are a trillion songs out there. We'll find one that fits you, guys."

"That would be amazing, Isa. Thank you!" Claire tells her.

"Of course! Hey, can I keep it a surprise? I'll email Grace and let her know, you guys can find out which song I chose the day of the wedding! Are you cool with that?"

I look at Claire and shrug. "Up to you, babe."

"On one condition." Claire tells Isa.

"What is it?"

"Don't choose a song that will make me want to punch you." Claire laughs.

Isa laughs too. "Wow, someone is turning aggressive!"

I nod. "Yep, that's what I told her a month ago!"

As Phillip drives to Chestnut Hill, I remember the song. "Hey Alex, did Isa choose a song?"

He looks at me and nods. "Yeah, she did. You guys are going to love it. Really."

I smile and nod.

We arrive 40 minutes later and when we step inside the house, I'm met with people moving back and forth, Grace commanding everything.

"Mr Grady! You arrived. Everything is moving along great. We're right on schedule."

I nod. "Great! Thanks, Grace. Everything outside ready?"

She scans through her iPad and looks up at me. "Yes! Everything is ready. You can go look if you want."

I nod. "I want to see how it looks outside, just give me a minute, okay?"

They all nod and head up the stairs to the room we're going to get ready in.

I walk through a magnificent house. Claire and I didn't see the inside of the house, just the outside where the ceremony is going to be. The house is like something out of a movie.

I step outside and see where Claire and I are going to get married. There are two huge tents; in one we're going to get married and in the other one the reception is going to take place. We wanted an outdoor wedding, no tents, nothing, but the weather is still chilly, so we had to put the tents with heating included. I walk across the huge yard and into the tent.

Everything, does in fact, look ready to go. A dark grey carpet has been laid out, and on the aisle there's a bone white carpet. I take off my shoes just in case I get the carpet dirty, and walk down the aisle. I go up the one step, where the magistrate is going to marry us and I turn around to see all the empty chairs.

"Owen Grady is getting married. Who would've thought?" I feel my cell phone vibrate. I pull it from my pocket and answer. "Yep."

"You have to come up, Owen. Isa just called me, the bride is about to arrive. You can't see the bride before the ceremony… or that's what she told, at least."

"Okay, Alex. Be right up." I look around one more time and walk to the house. I climb the stairs and open the door of the room. I see all of them are almost ready.

"What time is it?" I ask them.

"It's 11:15am. The ceremony starts in 45 minutes." Barry says.

"Okay. Let's get myself ready then."

I take a quick shower and get dressed.

"Don't forget your vows." Alex tells me.

"Oh, right." I open my bag and pull the paper out.

"You're getting nervous, aren't you?" he says looking at me up and down.

I crack my neck. "No, I'm n-" I huff. "Yes, I am."

"That's good, man. Get's you hyped." Alex says.

Phillip walks up to me and holds me by the shoulders. "Be nervous, just don't freeze. Okay?"

I nod. "Okay."

There's a knock on the door and Grace's head pops in. "Mr Grady, is time for you to get in position. The guests are already sat."

I nod and she closes the door. "Oh, shit! What if I get so nervous I can barely read my vows? What if I do a Ross and say Rachel instead of Claire? What if- Ow!"

I'm stopped in the middle of my rant by Phillip slapping me. "Calm down! You're not going to screw up, so relax! The moment you see her, you're not going to feel nervous anymore, so stop worrying!"

I rub my cheek and huff. "Okay. You're right. You did not need to slap me, though."

"Why not? It clearly worked."

"That was interesting." Alexander says.

"Yes, it was." Barry agrees.

We walk down the stairs and across the yard. Phillip, Barry and Alex stay behind to come in later with the bridesmaids; who are Isa, Karen and Anna.

It was hilarious having that conversation with Anna. Of course she was delighted for us, but when Claire asked her if she would be her bridesmaid, Anna's face dropped.

"Do I have to wear a dress, Claire?"

"Yes."

"I think you might want Helena, lass. I don't wear dresses, specially if it's pink."

"Ew, no. No pink. Besides I was going to let you guys choose the dress. You are going to be the ones wearing it. Please Anna, say yes. Come on, you're gonna make a pregnant woman with twins beg?!"

"Oh, you manipulative b- Fine! fine! I'll be your bridesmaid."

I stop at the entrance of the tent and take a deep breath.

"Just don't fall or stutter and you should be fine." I whisper to myself.

"Whenever you're ready, Mr Grady." Grace tells me. I nod.

I crack my neck and start walking down the aisle. As soon as the guests see me, I start hearing whispering. I smile as all I see are familiar faces. I'm glad we didn't have a huge wedding. This feels a lot more intimate.

I climb the one step and turn to face the crowd. Everyone is smiling at me. I look to the first row and see mum, dad and nonna there. Mum is already crying and dad and nonna are looking at me as if they were recording the moment in their minds. Gray is sitting alone and I wonder where Zach is. Gray is beaming as always.

I hear the music start and see the guests stand up.

Isabella and Alex start walking down the aisle, followed by Karen and Barry and finally Phillip and Anna. My eyes go to the entrance of the tent once again, and everything slows down around me. I see Claire walking in and I swear my breath catches in my throat. She's wearing a long sleeved dress. The fabric of the sleeves, shoulders and chest is lace. The dress wraps beautifully around her belly and the fabric falls strikingly down. She's wearing her hair up in a bun.

She looks stunning.

Something I honestly wasn't expecting was to feel emotional. I feel myself well up as I see Claire walking down the aisle with Zach. I think my mum notices I'm getting emotional because I listen to her sniffle some more.

Just before they get to the step, they stop and Zach turns to her and hugs Claire. Then he turns to me and 'hands her' to me. I raise my fist to Zach and he bumps it with his and goes sit next to Gray.

I take Claire's hand as she climbs the one step. "You look beautiful."

"You don't look half bad." She tells me.

And the ceremony starts. To be completely honest, I'm not paying any attention to what the magistrate is saying. I'm so lost looking at Claire, I almost not listen to the magistrate say it's time to say our vows.

I let go of Claire's hands and pull the piece of paper I folded earlier today from my pocket. It's pretty wrinkled and I wonder if I should've transcribed it to a new piece of paper.

Too late.

I take a deep breath and start reading. "Claire Dallas Dearing. For more than 10 years, I was a man afraid of commitment. I was a man, who didn't think he would ever find true happiness. I thought I was meant to be alone. That is, until I met you. Our story is not a traditional one. I think we both can agree, we thought we were the last person we each wanted to be with. But when we were standing in that warehouse in Costa Rica, I realized that I had found someone who made me feel like I should aspire for more. I believe we were meant to overcome all those obstacles together for me to see, to _understand_ , that you are the love of my life."

My voice breaks in that last part. I see silent tears coming down Claire's cheeks, but a smile on her face. I continue.

"We're about to start a family. And I never in my life thought that I could feel so much happiness. Everyday I feel like I'm going to burst. And I promise you, in front of our friends and family, that I will be the best version of myself for you and our children, until my last day on this Earth. I promise. I love you."

I'm a strong man. I'm a masculine man. I take pride in my masculinity. I don't cry easily. But right now, I am crying. And I've never felt stronger.

"I love you." Claire tells me sniffing and dabbing at her cheeks.

"Claire." The magistrate motions for Claire to say her vows.

Karen hands her a perfect piece of paper. (She's also crying.)

"How the hell am I suppose to follow after that?" She asks. The guests laugh and I smile at her.

She looks down at her piece of paper and then at me. "After our first date, I thought you were a Neanderthal."

They all burst out laughing, not expecting Claire to open with that. I laugh too.

"But after, as days passed by and we were stuck in the same hotel, I realised you were caring, loving, protective, funny and incredibly loyal. For a very long time, I was a very guarded person. But I found myself telling you all about me and I didn't even realise it. It was so easy for me to open up to you. You changed me in ways I can't even explain. I thought I wasn't capable of love anymore. I was broken and you put me back together. You came into my life when I needed you the most. You saved me from becoming the person I promised my parents I would never become. I now look at life with nothing but positivity. We are so close to becoming parents, and I have no doubt in my mind, you are going to be _the best_ father. Our babies are so lucky to have you. _I'm_ so lucky to have you. I love you, Owen Luca Grady."

Here come the water works again! Shit. Now I understand why people cry at weddings so much.

"Rings, please." The magistrate says. Barry walks up and hands him the rings. "These rings symbolize your commitment in marriage. They remind you of who you are, where you've been, and where you're going. As you wear them through time, they will reflect not only who you are as individuals, but also who you are as a couple. Claire, do you take Owen to be your husband? Do you pledge to share your life openly with him and to speak the truth to him in love?"

"I do." Claire says.

"Owen, do you take Claire to be your wife? Do you pledge to share your life openly with her and to speak the truth to her in love?"

"I do."

He hands Claire my ring, and when she looks up at me, I nod to the ring. She frowns but then she looks down at the ring and sees what I had engraved in it. Her eyes well up again and she slides the ring onto my finger.

"For survival." She tells me.

The magistrate hands me Claire's ring and I slide it onto her finger. "For survival."

"By the power that is granted to me by the state of Pennsylvania; I declare you husband and wife. You may now kiss the bride."

He doesn't need to tell me twice. I lean forward and kiss Claire. And the crowd explodes.

AN:

This chapter was _looong,_ man! I had 46 pages for chapter 24 – Pt. 2, and I thought it was too long to post it as a single chapter, so I split it into 2. So keep on reading, cause there's 23 more pages to go before this chapter officially ends.


	27. Chapter 24 - Part 3

24 – Pt. 3

I kiss Claire for as long as my lungs allow me to. When I pull back we look at each other and start laughing.

"Oh my God." Claire says.

"I know." I hold her hand and we start walking down the aisle. The crowd is cheering and this time, I take a moment to look at the faces of the people I consider true friends. I see Vivian and Lowery, each with their significant others. I see Dr Fukunaga and Yolanda. I see some of my friends from work. I turn to look at Claire and I see she's doing the same.

We walk out of the tent; Grace is waiting for us.

"Congratulations! I know you two want to keep celebrating but I need 10 minutes of your time so the photographer can take your pictures. It'll be quick, I promise."

We nod and follow her to the opposite side of were the reception is going to be. The photographer is waiting for us. Turns out we chose a good time to get married. The sun is high up in the sky, shining beautifully, which gives for perfect photos.

When the photographer tells us he's going to take the last picture, Claire and I look at each other and the way the sun is hitting the side of her face… I'm blown away.

"How did I get so lucky, huh?" I tell her.

"I ask myself the same question." She tells me.

"Thank you. I'm all done here. Enjoy yourselves. Congratulations." The photographer tells us and Grace starts walking us to the tent.

"Hey, Grace. Can you give us a minute?" I ask her.

She smiles and nods. "Of course. I'll go make sure everything is coming along."

I nod. "Thanks."

I turn to Claire and kiss her. I lay my hands on her hips and rub her belly with my thumbs. "Now you're screwed. You can't get rid of me."

She laughs. "I wasn't planning to. Not yet, anyway."

We laugh. Claire raises her left hand and looks at the ring. "When did you have it engraved? I didn't notice."

"I didn't forget my credit card." I tell her.

She shakes her head. "I thought I saw you put it in your wallet, but I ignored it and thought maybe I had pregnancy brain."

"I was counting on you thinking that. Thank God it worked! I wanted to surprise you."

"You certainly did." We kiss one more time and she takes my hand. "Come on. Our guests are waiting for us."

We walk to the tent and go in. Everyone starts cheering and clapping. Grace walks up to me and hands me a microphone.

I tap it, to make sure it's working. "The only thing I have to say is: have fun and get drunk, people!"

They all laugh and the DJ turns the volume up. We walk to our family and hug them.

"Congratulations, topolino! You two, or I should say, you _four_ are going to be so happy!" Mum kisses my cheek.

"Thanks, mum. Dad." He laughs a throaty laugh and hugs me.

"My boy is a married man! Treat her good, Owen. She's too good of a catch!"

"You don't have to worry about that. I know." I look at Claire and she smiles.

"Claire, I'm so glad Owen found someone so perfect for him. You two are perfect for each other. Congratulations." Mum says hugging Claire.

"Thank you, Emilia. Oh." Claire says resting a hand on her belly.

Mum laughs. "I felt that. You have a couple of energetic babies in there."

Claire laughs. "You're telling me!"

"Go, you two! Enjoy your party, we'll talk later!" Nonna tells us.

We go to the dance floor and Karen comes towards Claire and hugs her and they start dancing.

I see Grace talking to the DJ and she looks quite annoyed. I turn to see Claire dancing with Zach and Gray and walk to Grace.

"Hey, is everything okay?" I ask her.

Grace huffs. "You're supposed to dance with Claire in 15 minutes, but the song your sister chose was misplaced."

I frown. "What do you mean? Don't you have it in a file or flash drive?"

"There weren't any high quality versions of the song available for the type of equipment we're using, so we bought the cd and it has been misplaced. There's a low quality version of the song on youtube, but we don't have internet access."

Grace asked us if we wanted to have internet, and Claire and I told her no. 'For what?' We said, everyone is going to be distracted by the actual party, they won't need wifi. Maybe we should've hired the service.

I scratch my head. "Now what?"

Isabella and Alexander come in that moment. "What's going on?"

"The cd was misplaced, and we don't have internet access to at least play the low quality version of the song you chose." Grace tells Isabella.

"What?! Shit." Isabella says.

"Isa, we know the song. We can sing it." Alex says.

Her eyes widen. "What? No, no, no, no. You want me to throw up at my brother's wedding?!"

"Come on, Isa! Is there a keyboard and a guitar on hand?" Alex asks Grace.

She closes her eyes and thinks. "Uh… yeah, yeah. At the house, they have to be brought out."

"Hey guys, if you need drums, I have a set of electronic drums on the back of my van." The DJ says. What was his name?

"Awesome!" Alex says.

"Alex, I don't think I can." Isa tells him.

I take her hand and give it a squeeze. "You don't have to do it if you don't want to, Isa. It's okay. I want everyone to have fun today. It's just a dance, nothing is going to change if Claire and I don't have one."

She looks at me and I see the determination landing on her eyes. "No. You have any idea how long it took me to find the perfect song? Plus, you guys deserve your dance. Grace, lead the way. We'll practice it a couple of times."

"Thank you, Isa." I hug her, and Isa and Alex follow Grace. The DJ presses a button and runs after them. The music keeps playing.

I walk back to the dance floor.

"Is everything okay?" Claire asks.

"Mmh. Technical problem, but Alex came up with a solution. You'll see in 15 minutes."

We keep dancing, and at some point I start doing the robot with Gray. Then the wave with Zach, and finally the shopping cart with Karen. Claire laughs at us, refusing to do any of the old fashioned moves.

"You feeling good, _wife_?" I ask her twirling her around a bit.

"I'm feeling great, _husband_."

"Babies?"

"I think they're asleep. I started dancing and they stopped moving." She gives me a peck.

"Awesome." I start doing the cabbage patch and she stops and stares at me.

"No."

I stop abruptly. "You're no fun, Dearing."

"I don't want to embarrass myself. Slight difference."

I shake my head and we keep dancing like normal people. About 10 minutes later, I see the DJ setting up his set of electric drums. He's connecting wires and double-checking everything. He goes down the small stage and brings a stand, places it diagonally to his drums and goes down the stage again and brings up the keyboard. I see him giving the thumbs up to someone and Grace steps on the stage with a microphone. The music comes down.

"The time has come to witness the first official dance of the bride and groom." Grace says and the crowd starts cheering. "We encountered some technical issues, but with the help of Isabella, Alexander and Daniel, the DJ, we're able to have the music for the dance. Clear the dance floor, please."

Our guests start clearing the floor and I take Claire's hand. "Ready?"

"Not really. Maybe we should've practiced _something_." She tells me as we walk to the dance floor.

"Don't worry. Follow my lead." I wink at her.

Isabella and Alex step onto the stage. Daniel passes Alex an electric guitar and sits behind the drums.

Isabella grabs the mic. "Hello everybody. Owen and Claire asked me to choose a song for them to dance to today. It took me a couple of days to find the song, but after a little digging I think I succeeded. They have no idea which song I chose, so I hope you guys like it." She's about to turn around, but addresses the audience once again. "FYI, it wasn't part of the plan for us to sing it, so if I toss the cookies, I'm very sorry."

"Isabella." I hear my mum mutter. I can picture her shaking her head. The crowd laughs though.

She sits behind the keyboard and gives Daniel and Alex a nod. She starts playing the keyboard, and I don't recognize the song, but if Claire's intake of breath is anything to go by, I think she does.

We start dancing to it. I guide Claire and I see her eyes shine. I don't say anything. Isabella starts singing and I pay attention to the lyrics.

" _We were strangers starting out on a journey. Never dreaming what we'd have to go through..._ "

Alex starts singing. " _No one told me, I was going to find you. Unexpected, what you did to my heart._ "

They start singing together. " _When I lost hope, you were there to remind me, this is the start._ "

I start smiling. Was this song written for us?! I shake my head slightly. Claire starts smiling too.

" _We were strangers on a crazy adventure. Never dreaming what we'd have to go through…_ "

Our dance is nothing elaborated or fancy, again we didn't practice anything, and yet, it feels fluent and natural and just _perfect_.

" _Now I know that dreams will live on, I've been waiting so long, nothing's gonna tears us apart_."

Yeah, that's for sure. _Nothing_ is going to tear us apart. I pull Claire closer to me as much as I can. (our babies are in the way) The song ends with the most perfect line.

" _In the end, I wanna be standing at the beginning with you._ "

Isabella continues playing the keyboard, and I rest my forehead against Claire's. The song ends and everyone starts clapping.

"We love you, guys." Isabella says.

Claire and I break apart and we turn to them. We clap and cheer for them too. I see Isa and Alex shake hands with Daniel and come down the stage and run towards us.

Claire motions for Isa to hug her first. "How did you know about that song?"

Isa smiles and tightens her hug. "You liked it?"

"Yes! That's the song from 'Anastasia'. That was the last movie Karen and I saw with mum in the movie theatre. We were obsessed with that song. I haven't listened to it since she passed."

Isa's eyes widen. "Well, that's one way for your mum to make herself present in your wedding day, huh?"

Claire laughs and closes her eyes. "Yeah, I guess it is. You both sounded amazing by they way."

I hug Alex and pat him on the back. "You really did. Thank you so much for that. It made it so much more special." I hug Isa and Claire, Alex.

The party continues, and Claire eventually caves and we do the cabbage patch together. The crowd goes ballistic.

4 hours later, Claire tells me she thinks it's time for us to leave.

"Are you tired?" I ask concerned.

She shakes her head. "Unbelievingly, no. But if I keep going at this rate, in about an hour, I will be exhausted, and I don't think you want me to be exhausted by the time we get to the hotel." She does that thing, were she lowers her voice, raises her eyebrow and caresses my arm.

My kryptonite.

Isabella walks by me and says. "You're drooling." And continues on her way to wherever.

Claire laughs and I kiss her. "You siren." I turn around and start walking to the stage and grab the mic. "Dearest friends and family, it is time for the missus and I to take our leave, but please continue the celebration. Thank you so much for coming and sharing this day with us. We love you. Be safe!"

I jump out of the stage and take Claire's hand and start walking out of the tent. They all clap for us. We go to the house, change into the more comfy clothes we brought and we head to the huge hotel room that is waiting for us.

Again, none of your business, but we had _a lot_ of fun. 4 days weren't enough.

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"Son of a bitch!" Claire says.

I come home for work to find Claire pacing back and forth in our living room. She took her maternity leave about a month and a half after our wedding, so 7.5 months pregnant. A month later, Claire is positively huge. I obviously don't say out loud any of this, because I like to be alive.

"Hey, you okay?" I ask, nervous she might be going into labour. She's 34 weeks pregnant, Dr Moretuzzo tolds us the babies could be here any day now.

"No, I'm not okay! Your children keep kicking me on the ribs, I have to pee every 10 minutes and I haven't slept properly in a month! I swear to God, Owen, we are NOT having more kids!" She says pointing at me.

"Okay." I say walking to her.

"I mean it!"

I raise my hands. "I believe you. I actually thought 2 was a good number. We don't want to be outnumbered."

At that, she stops pacing and exhales. "I'm sorry. I'm being a complete bitch. How was your day?"

I shake my head. "Nothing interesting. You're not being a bitch. You're just anxious and tired. I wouldn't be handling half as well as you are. Your back hurt?"

She closes her eyes. "Yes."

"Come here."

I start massaging the lower part of her back. She moans and throws her head back.

"Is that any better?" I ask her.

"Yes. Thank you."

One Friday evening as I come back from the gym, I come home to find Claire in the babies' room folding all of their clothes. She looks very focused on the task. I lean on the doorframe and look at her. We've read about this; it's called nesting. Mothers have this impulse to suddenly start making sure everything is ready for when the baby arrives, or in our case, babies. I don't think she's realized what she's doing.

"What are you doing?" I finally ask her after a little while of watching her.

She looks up, just noticing me. "Oh, I'm just making sure everything is well organized and clean."

I start smiling and she blushes a little. "What?" she asks me.

"I think our babies are coming very soon." I point to the pile of clothes. "I'm pretty sure you're nesting."

She frowns and looks down at the clothes she was just folding. Her eyes start to widen. "Oh, wow. I didn't even realize. I thought I would be able to tell. I guess the books were right." Her hand goes to her mouth. "Oh my God, they are going to be here, _literally_ , any day now." She lays a hand on her protruding belly.

I walk into the room and lay my hand next to hers. "Yes, they are. Are you nervous?"

"About having them or being a mother?" she asks a little flustered.

I shrug. "Both I guess."

"Yes to both. Especially being a mother."

"You don't have to worry about that. You'll be the best. You'll see." I tell her.

She smiles at me. "I would hug you, but you're sweaty."

I laugh and go take a shower.

A week later, I'm at work, I'm feeling out a report about the health of a polar bear who was just rescued from a shitty circus, when my cell phone rings. By the ringtone, I know it's Claire. I pick it up without looking away from the screen.

"Hey babe."

"I think my water just broke." She tells me. I can't tell by her tone how she's reacting to this.

"What?!" I say. I stop typing, report forgotten. "How are you feeling?" I ask her, keep her talking. I start gathering my things.

"Um, I think I'm okay. I just – I'm… come home." She tells me.

"I'm on my way. I'll be there in 15 minutes, okay? I'm coming." I start running through the office. People are looking at me confused.

"Okay. Just hurry." She says.

"I will. I love you." I press the button of the elevator.

"I love you."

I hang up and press the elevator button again. "Come on, come on."

"Owen, is everything okay?"

I turn around. "Claire's water just broke." I press the button again.

"Oh!" He looks at the elevator. "I think you may want to take the stairs, man."

I look at the small screen above the door and back at him. "Yep, I think I will."

I start running to the stairwell door.

"Good luck with those babies, Owen!"

"Thanks, Mark!"

I don't care that I'm running like a mad man and people look at me like I'm crazy. I fly down 10 flights of stairs (thank God I've been going to the gym for the past year.), and run into the parking lot. I throw my stuff on the back seat, pull out the car from my spot and drive home.

It's 11am, so the traffic is not that bad, but it's not moving fast enough. I get home 20 minutes later, to find Claire sitting on the couch, eyes closed, one hand on her belly.

When I close the door she opens her eyes. I walk to her and kneel.

"How are you feeling? Any contractions?"

She looks at me, eyes wide. "I felt something on my back about 5 minutes ago."

"Okay. You want to go to the hospital now or do you want to wait?" I ask her. Dr Moretuzzo told us to not feel like we have to go to the hospital immediately after her water breaks, but at the end, it was up to us.

She shakes her head. "I think we should stay a little longer. I don't want to be in the hospital for longer than I have to."

"Okay. What do you want? What do you need?" I stand up.

"Nothing. Just stay here. We should probably write down the time between contractions."

I sit down next to her and throw my arm around her shoulders. She rests her head on my shoulder. "I'll type them down on my cell phone." I pull it out from my pocket and show it to her.

"Should we let the family know?" I ask her.

She nods. "Okay."

I unblock my phone and write a mass text. It's easier that way. I include mum, dad, Isabella, Alex, Karen, Zach and Gray. I'll call nonna.

*Family, Claire's water broke. We're staying home for a little bit. We'll let you know when we're at the hospital. #twins *

I send it and I hear Claire chuckle. "Hashtag twins?"

I shrug. "Just emphasizing the point. I'm gonna call nonna." She nods.

I press her name and put her on speakerphone. "Ciao, this is Fran."

"Nonna."

"Amore, how are you? How's Claire?"

"I was calling about her. Claire's water broke."

She laughs. "It's time, then! Where are you? In the hospital?"

"No, not yet. We're staying here until the contractions are closer together."

"How's Claire feeling?"

"Nervous, Fran. Very nervous." Claire tells her.

"I would expect you to be. But don't worry about it. Women are built for this. You're strong, Claire. Just think that in a matter of hours, you two will be home with two beautiful, healthy babies. Focus on that."

Claire smiles. "I will. Thanks Fran."

"Well, I'll let you two go. Call me when you go the hospital, okay?"

"I will, nonna. Bye."

"Bye. I love you both."

"We love you too." I hang up.

People start responding to the text, telling us they'll catch a flight to Philly as soon as they can buy a ticket.

"They're coming. Maybe they'll be here tomorr-" I hear Claire hiss. She closes her eyes and her expression tightens. She opens her eyes. "Contraction?"

She nods. "Yeah, I think that one was definitely a contraction. This is going to be so much fun for me."

I open my notes on my cell phone. "This is the first time you've felt it properly, right?"

"Yeah."

I type it down and we wait. About 3 hours later, the contractions are coming exactly 5 minutes apart and Claire tells me they're becoming stronger to. "At first I felt it in my back, now I'm starting to feel it from hipbone to hipbone."

"Time to go?"

She nods. "I think so, yes."

I stand up and go to our room. I bring out the bag with Claire's and the babies' clothes.

"You ready?" I ask her.

"To go? Yes. For everything else, we'll see."

I help her stand up. "Come on. By the time we come back, we'll have 2 babies." I smile at her and kiss her.

"Let's go have these babies then." She tells me.

On our way to the hospital, I call Dr Moretuzzo's office to let them know we're coming. When I stop at the red light, I send the family another text letting them know.

Claire had 4 contractions on our way to the hospital. As I park the car, she has another one.

"This one happened before the 5 minutes." She tells me.

"Things are moving along kinda fast now then." I say turning the ignition off.

Claire huffs. "I don't mind that. I'm sure I'll like them very much, but I can't wait for them to get out of me. At this point, being pregnant is very unpleasant."

I take her hand. "It'll be over soon." I open the car door and get down. I open the door for Claire and help her out. We walk in through the hospital's main door and go up to L&D (labour and delivery). A wheelchair is immediately brought out for Claire and she gets taken to her room (we booked a suite) while I fill out some forms.

My phone starts vibrating and I see all the incoming messages. Unfortunately, there were no more flights for today, so mum, dad, Isabella and Alex won't be in Philly until first thing in the morning tomorrow. Karen and the kids are taking the earliest flight tomorrow and they'll be here close to lunchtime. Nonna won't be able to come because she's had high blood pressure for a couple of weeks and her doctor forbade her to fly.

I decide then, to send them audios updating them of Claire's progress. "Twins log 1, this is Owen reporting from Pennsylvania Hospital, Claire has been admitted and currently, she's being hooked up to a lot of machines. Her contractions are now 4 minutes apart. Owen out."

I sit by Claire's side, doing whatever she tells me to do. I bring her ice chips, rub her back, help her walk the length of the room. At one point, Claire rests her hands on the mattress and leans forward. She makes this weird, animalistic sound. Something between a moan and a scream.

"I want the drugs." She says.

"Now?" I ask her.

"No, tomorrow. Yes, now!" she yells at me.

"Okay. I'll… go see what I can do." I leave the room to look for a nurse. I pull out my cell phone. "Twins log 2, Claire has become hostile and is asking for the drugs. Owen out."

I walk to the nurses' station. "Hey, I was wondering if Dr Moretuzzo is already on her way? Things seem to be moving very quickly with my wife and she's asking for drugs."

The nurse smiles. "Oh, yeah that tends to happen closer to delivery. Dr Moretuzzo had an emergency c-section, as soon as she's done, she'll come see your wife. She shouldn't be long. The doctor will be the one to determine if she can get an epidural, we're not authorized to administer any drugs without the doctor's consent."

I nod. "Okay, thank you."

I pull my cell phone out again. "Twins log 3, the nurse just told me she can't do anything about the drugs, and now I have to tell Claire. I'm not looking forward to it. Owen out."

I open the door and find her in foetal position on the bed. "Uh, babe?"

"What?" she asks _very_ aggressively.

"Dr Moretuzzo is performing an emergency c-section and as soon as she's done, she'll be coming to see you. The nurses can't do anything about the epidural; Dr Moretuzzo has to green light it."

She groans. "Of course. I hate this! I feel like I'm being split in two!"

I kneel next to the bed and rest my forearms on the mattress. "Do you want me to do anything?"

She shakes her head. "No. Just stay here."

"Okay." And just like that her whole demeanour changes. Her contractions keep coming every 4 minutes for about an hour. Dr Moretuzzo comes in with a chart on hand and a smile plastered on her face.

"Hello, you two! You've been here since about 2pm, they tell me. How are you feeling, Claire?" She starts reading the charts the machine has been printing for a while now.

"Like I want this to be over." She tells Dr Moretuzzo.

She laughs. "Yeah, I can't blame you for that. The babies look good. Now let's take a look at you."

She makes Claire put her feet up in stirrups. "You're about 5 centimetres dilated, Claire. That's very good. First time mothers don't usually have things move along this fast. You're lucky."

"Does that mean I get the drugs?" Claire asks her; hopeful.

She laughs at that. "Yes, if that's what you want."

"That's what I want." Claire says matter of factly.

"Then that's what you'll get. I'll be back in an hour." She smiles at me and leaves the room.

The same nurse I talked to comes in a few minutes later with another nurse, and they help Claire sit up and tell her what to do. I almost pass out when I see the size of the needle. I don't say anything though. I don't want to upset Claire. When the nurse inserts the needle she just keeps pushing the thing further and further in. I cringe, so I look somewhere else.

After that, Claire seems a lot more relaxed. She's even smiling.

"I love science." She says.

"I'm glad you feel better." I tell her.

She falls asleep. I guess the epidural did do wonders for her. I take advantage of her being asleep and pull my cell phone out again. "Twins log 4, Claire is 5 centimetres dilated and she got her epidural. She fell asleep about 15 minutes ago. Owen out."

I start reading the messages they all were sending me. When I told them Claire had gotten aggressive, mum replied with 'don't be surprised if she tells you she hates you' and Karen replies with 'Yeah, or if she throws something at you'. Thank God we didn't reach that point. I would prefer to not be physically assaulted by my pregnant wife.

Claire wakes up a good 3 hours later. She looks well rested.

"You managed to get a good nap. How are you feeling?" I ask her.

She sits up a bit. "Pretty good. It's weird, I can feel the contraction, but I don't feel any pain. Why can't things just be naturally like that? Mother nature is a cruel woman."

I laugh. "That's good though. That way you can have a more pleasant experience. Dr Moretuzzo came by. She read the charts and said everyone is doing great. She should be coming back again any moment now."

Claire nods. "Okay." She closes her eyes again.

Dr Moretuzzo comes not too long after and checks Claire. "Guess what?" She tells us.

"What?" Claire asks.

"It's time for you to have these babies, Claire."

"Already?! It's been, what? 9 hours?" Claire says.

"You're lucky. The nurses will come and get you prepped. I'll be back in 5 minutes." She leaves the room.

I turn to Claire. "Oh my God, this is totally happening right now!"

She looks at me, eyes wide. "Yeah."

Two nurses come in and start getting Claire prepped. They hook her up to new machines and unhook her from others. They adjust her bed and bring a lot of things, which I have no idea what they are or do.

"Okay, Claire. Do you feel anything different, anything new compared to the last 15 minutes?" Dr Moretuzzo asks her.

"I'm starting to feel a very strong urge to push." Claire tells her, eyes as wide as ever.

"That's perfect, but don't yet. Wait until I tell you. It's very important for you to understand that. Okay?"

She nods. "Okay."

Dr Moretuzzo starts doing who knows what down there, but I keep my focus on Claire. I can see the concentration on her face, trying to follow the doctor's orders. I hold her hand and rest my forehead against the side of her head. "You're going to do amazing. You're so strong." I whisper in her ear.

She turns to look at me and whispers, "I'm scared."

"I know. I am too."

"Okay, Claire. When you feel the next contraction I want you to push as hard as you can. Got it?"

She nods. I feel Claire's grip start to tighten. She starts pushing and Dr Moretuzzo starts counting to 10. "…9, 10. Stop pushing, Claire. That was very good. Next contraction, you do the exact same thing."

Claire pushes a couple of times before Dr Moretuzzo announces she sees a head.

"Oh my God! I wanna see." Claire holds my hand with a death grip.

"If you want us to keep having a sex life, do _not_ look down there. I'm serious." She tells me between heavy breaths.

I think about that for a second. "Okay, whatever you want."

The next contraction comes and Claire pushes once again. "One more push, Claire. One more push."

Claire nods and I can tell she's exhausted, but the steel in her eyes is as strong as ever.

"Push, Claire." She does, and then the whole room is filled with a cry. The most glorious sound I think I've ever heard.

"You have a boy!"

Claire gasps and falls back on the tilted bed. "Is he okay?"

"Yes, he looks perfect. Dad, come cut the chord." Dr Moretuzzo tells me.

I take the scissors and cut the chord in a bit of a daze. That's my boy, right there! He's all gross and bloody, but he's perfect. A nurse takes him to clean him up.

"Pass me the ultrasound machine, please." A nurse passes her the probe and rests it against Claire's belly. "Your daughter seems ready to join the party. She's in perfect position. Same as before Claire, you feel the contraction and you push."

Claire nods. She waits a few seconds and then starts pushing again. I don't even know for how long she pushed; 2 or 20 times. The only thing I register is the second cry and another gross, but perfect baby.

"You have a daughter!" Dr Moretuzzo shows her to us and she's wailing her little lungs out. He was a lot quieter. "I think someone's pissed she wasn't born first!"

We laugh and I look down at Claire, she looks ready to pass out, but I see something else. I see complete and utter love in her eyes as she looks at our daughter. I cut the chord and the nurse takes her away, and another nurse brings our son and hands him to Claire.

"Hello. Look at you." She says crying, running her finger along his tiny nose. I see the nurse come with our daughter and hands her to me.

"I can't believe they're here." I lean down so Claire can have a better look at our daughter.

"So you two were the ones kicking me, huh? You are both so grounded." She tells them and we laugh through our tears.

"What are their names?" A nurse asks us with 2 birth certificates on hand.

I look at Claire and let her do the honours.

"His name is Nicholas. Nicholas Grady." She smiles down at him.

"And hers?"

"Mia. Mia Grady."

When the nurses are done with Claire's afterbirth and we're alone again, I take my cell phone out.

"Let's send the family a sneak peek." I tell Claire. She's now holding both babies. She looks like a complete natural.

Claire refuses to have her picture taken, so we lay one hand of both babies on Claire's hand and I take a picture.

*Perfect and healthy. * I text the family with the picture attached.

After, when Claire is resting, I move to the adjacent small living room that's attached to her suite with Nicholas and Mia, each on their own crib. They're both in the brink of falling asleep; Claire fed them before she fell asleep.

I look at them more carefully now. They both have Claire's eyes and chin. But they have blonde hair, like mine when I was a baby. I wonder if it'll remain just as blonde or if it'll darken like mine. I see Nicholas' eyes flutter and close. Mia is trying to stay awake. Her little hand has escaped the blanket. I run my finger through her palm and she closes her tiny fingers around mine. That little action feels me with pride.

"You look like you want to go to sleep but refuse to. Your brother's already out." I whisper to Mia. "You are as stubborn as your mum, aren't you?"

I start running my finger along the length of her tiny nose, like Claire did to Nicholas, and eventually, Mia's eyes close. I pull my cell phone out and take a picture of the sleeping babies. I text Anna the good news and ask her to please show the photo to nonna, since she won't be able to come to Philly.

She texts me back and tells me nonna just made everyone stop working so they can see her great grandchildren. I laugh and look down at my babies again. _My_ babies. Unbelievable.

The next day, Claire looks and feels a lot better. She's all smiles by the time the family starts to arrive. Mum, dad, Isabella and Alex come first. Isa can barely contain her excitement. She hugs me and then Claire, and she whispers something in Claire's ear and Claire bursts out laughing, but then hisses.

"Isa! Don't make me laugh. It still hurts!" Claire tells her still laughing.

"Oh, I have my answer then."

They all hug us and congratulate us and then I go get the twins from the nursery. I bring the twins to the suite, each in their respective cribs and, as luck would have it, they're wide awake.

"Guys, let me introduce you to Nicholas and Mia." I close the door and walk to Claire's side.

Mum rests her hand on her chest. "Beautiful names. Ugh, look at them. They're gorgeous. "

"They're pretty alert too. Who wants to be picked up by grandpa first?" Dad asks the babies.

We laugh. Mum picks up Mia and dad picks up Nicholas.

"Who was born first?" Mum asks.

"Nicholas." Claire says. "8:27pm. Mia was born 8:35pm. Nicholas cried for a little bit and then stopped, but Mia was wailing for a good 2-3 minutes. Mouthy like her father."

" _Or_ … competitive like her mother. Maybe Dr Moretuzzo was right, and she was annoyed she wasn't born first."

"We'll find out in time, I guess." Claire tells me.

"I guess we will."

Isabella walks in between mum and dad. "Claire, they have your chin! And look at those big green eyes! You two are so lucky, you don't look like your daddy at all." She says giving both babies her index fingers.

"Gee, thanks. You're always so kind and gentle to me." I tell her.

She smiles.

"Actually, cucciola, I think they're a pretty even mix. Yes, the chin and eyes are Claire's, but the hair and nose are Owen's." mum tells her.

Isa turns to look at me and I stick my tongue out to her.

The babies start cooing and everyone melts.

"Why are babies so cute?" Alex says.

Mum passes Mia to Alex and dad passes Nicholas to Isa.

"You guys are going to be so spoiled. Yes, you are. Your aunt Isa and uncle Alex are going to give you all you want. Yes, we are."

Claire touches my arm. I look down at her and she raises her eyebrows. I smile and nod.

"Hey, Isa. You do know you're the babies' godmother, right?" I tell her.

"What? Really?!" Her eyes widen in surprise.

Claire and I nod. "Really."

She starts squealing, but contains it to avoid rattling Nicholas. "You heard that, Nico and Mia? If you two want to rob a bank, you only need to ask." She gives them both a kiss on the forehead.

Alex and Isa start taking selfies with the babies. "We have to record this moment for ever." They say. And they do.

At lunch time, they tell us they will see us tomorrow. They came directly from the airport and they're a bit tired. They say their goodbyes to Nicholas and Mia and the 4 of us are left alone again.

I pick up Mia from her crib and pass her to Claire. I pick up Nicholas and sit on the chair by Claire's bed.

"Who in your family has a butt chin?" I ask Claire.

She looks at me bored. "Really?"

"What? I like your butt chin and I'm glad they have it."

Claire looks down at Mia and starts playing with her little hand. "My dad had a _cleft_ chin." She raises her eyebrow at me. I smirk. "But his was a lot more pronounced than mine. I think they might've inherited his chin. Theirs is definitely more pronounced than mine."

I look down at Nicholas and run my pinky through his chin. "You know, I've never seen pictures of your parents." I say looking up at Claire.

She looks up at me and frowns. "Yeah. After they died, I didn't take any pictures of them when I went to university or when I moved to Costa Rica. I didn't want to look at their pictures and remember they were no longer here. I haven't – I haven't looked at any pictures of them in almost 20 years."

She looks down at Mia and starts sniffling. "They should know who their grandparents were. It wouldn't be fair to them for me to hide them."

I nod. "I agree. And I don't think it's fair for you to do that to yourself either. I think when Karen comes, you should ask her to scan you a few photos. What I learnt from when nonno Luca died, is to remember him by the amazing person he was, how he made me laugh and how he could make me see things that nobody else could. You shouldn't remember your mum in her days of sickness or your dad in his days of depression, you should remember them as the people who taught you and loved you so much. There's no point in remembering them at their worst, cause that's not who they were."

A few tears start running down her cheeks. "Yeah, you're right." She wipes away the tears with her right hand. "I keep having these moments, were I think them not being here all these years was just some messed up nightmare, and they're gonna come through that door at any moment to meet their grandchildren. And it hurts _so much_ to realise that's never gonna happen." The tears start flowing freely now.

I look down at Nicholas and see he's asleep. I stand up and lie him down on his crib and I do the same with Mia. I sit down on the bed with Claire and hug her. "You will make sure they both know who your parents were. You're going to show them pictures, tell them stories and tell them how amazing they were. They're going to be fascinated to see they have your father's chin, and they're going to feel nothing but love for grandpa Eric and grandma Catherine, you'll see. I wish they were here too. I wish I could've met them and told them how amazing their daughter is. They will never know their grandchildren, but their grandchildren will know who they were. Okay?"

She nods and leans towards me. I pull her closer to me and give her a kiss on the side of her head. The babies remain asleep on their cribs.

Karen and the kids arrive 2 hours later. Karen starts fuzzing over the babies and Zach and Gray watch with smiles on their faces. At one point, Zach carries Nicholas and Gray, Mia. Claire chooses that moment to tell her about the photos and how she wants Nicholas and Mia to know who their parents were. They both started crying. Karen tells her she's been waiting for her to stop hiding the fact that she misses them.

"Always trying to be so strong." Karen tells her.

We talk about everything. Karen tells Claire of how much she was laughing by my logs.

"What logs?" Claire looks at Karen confused.

Karen frowns. "Owen was keeping us updated of your progress yesterday. He was sending us the most hilarious audios."

Claire looks at me and raises her eyebrow, asking for an explanation. "What? I wanted to keep them updated! What's the big deal?"

She shakes her head slowly and turns to Karen. "Play the one that made you laugh the most, Kar." She asks menacingly.

"Um, I'm not sure it would be safe for Owen for me to do that." Karen answers.

"Play it. _Please_." She adds the please as more of an afterthought.

Karen turns to look at me and shrugs. "Sorry, Owen."

"It was bound to happen. Not all could be complete happiness." I tell her.

Karen laughs and pulls out her cell phone and plays the audio that made her laugh the most.

" _Twins log 2, Claire has become hostile and is asking for the drugs. Owen out."_

I hear it play back and I start laughing. That _was_ funny.

"So while I was in the process of having two human beings _exit_ me, you were making fun of me?" Claire says crossing her arms.

"I wasn't making fun of you. I was just stating how things were. And if they _happened_ to be funny, that's not my fault. I was just the messenger." I tell her.

She starts shaking her head, but can't keep the smile from creeping onto her face. "You're lucky you're the father of my children."

I nod. "Yeah. Yeah, I am."

Gray laughs softly and we direct our attention to them. I see Nicholas' hand has escaped the blanket and he's now touching Zach's nose and cheek clumsily.

Karen takes a picture of them and Zach doesn't even notice.

The next day, Dr Moretuzzo comes by and checks Claire and the babies and tells us we're free to go home. When she leaves, Claire and I look at each other. I'm sure she can see on my face the same nervousness I see on hers. Now what? There aren't going to be any nurses around to help us and walk us through anything anymore. It's up to us now. Today is the day that we _truly_ become parents.

"You wanna change Mia? I'll change Nicholas."

"Sounds good to me." She answers.

Claire and I dress the babies with the onesies Phillip sent us. We chose the 'drinking buddies' one. Nicholas is wearing the onesie that says 'drinking' and Mia the one that says 'buddies'.

The nurses laugh when we walk out of the suite; the onesies' front in full view. They congratulate us and we walk out of the hospital. We put the babies on their car sits and we get into the car.

"Oh, I almost forgot." I open the glove compartment and pull out a sticker that says 'Twins on board'. Claire laughs. I pop the trunk open, get out of the car, paste it, and the four of us go home.

AN:

So this is the end of my version of Clawen's future together. It has been a pleasure writing this fic. I never thought I would enjoy it so much! Thank you to all of you out there who have always let me know how you felt about each chapter, you definitely were one of the reasons I was so motivated to write more and more everyday! Don't fret though! There's an epilogue coming and I'll try to make it as funny and fluffy as possible (You all like funny and fluffy, right?). Did you guys like the name I chose for the twins? Did you not like the names I chose for the twins? Which names would you have chosen? I always love hearing from you guys. See you next Saturday for that epilogue! From this Peruvian girl to all of you, muchas gracias!


	28. Epilogue

The end is here people. Okay, so I'm calling this a chepilogue because I treated it more like a chapter than an epilogue. It is ridiculously long, so in theory, it couldn't possibly be an epilogue. I don't know if I'll write more, so at least I got certain ideas out of my head. I hope you enjoy!

Epilogue

Saying those first few weeks were hard would be a _big_ understatement. Yes, it is amazing and I still can't believe they're here. Yes, becoming a parent has changed me in ways I could've never imagined. Yes, when I see them and hold them I feel nothing but pure and unadulterated love. But _man_ , the loss of sleep, the loss of Owen time, the loss of Owen _and_ Claire time, and the fact that we've been eating take out for the last month, hit us like a ton of bricks. We knew it would happen, but we were obviously not prepared for it.

There were nights were Nicholas would start crying, and we couldn't figure out what was wrong, and then Mia would start crying, and they would keep each other in a vicious circle and we didn't know what to do! We were so exhausted, sometimes we couldn't figure out who had which twin. Mia and Nicholas look exactly the same, especially when Claire and I had 4 hours of sleep the night before.

But one glorious day, though. Oh, that glorious day 5 months later. I wake up because I feel Claire moving. I open my eyes and see her sitting on the bed looking around confused.

"You okay?" I ask stretching out my muscles.

She turns her confused gaze to me. "We just woke up."

I sit up and rub my head. "Yeah."

"We _just_ woke up." She tells me again.

I frown. "Yeah, we just wok- They slept through the night." Could today be the day they start sleeping like normal human beings? "They slept through the night!"

Claire and I start laughing.

"I can't believe they slept all night long! I thought it would never happen!" Claire tells me.

"Maybe now we can function without 2 litres of caffeine a day. You know what this calls for, right?" I ask Claire.

She turns towards me. "What?" She says raising her eyebrow.

I lean forward, encircle her waist with my right arm and pull her towards me. "When was the last time we had enough energy to… you know, _celebrate_?"

"2 weeks, 6 days and 11 hours. But who _is_ counting?" She says rubbing circles on the back of my neck.

I shake my head. "We can't have that."

Claire inhales deeply. "No, we can't."

"Well, then…"

We both lean forward at the same time. We kiss like 2 feral animals, like 2 _desperate_ feral animals. I lay her on her back and start running my hands through the length of her torso. I start kissing her neck, and I feel her hands on my t-shirt trying to get rid of it. I sit up and I'm halfway through taking it off and like a bomb, the crying starts.

I groan and sit on my heels. "I can't believe my own kids are cock blocking me."

For no apparent reason, Claire starts laughing hysterically.

"Oh, you think this is funny?"

She nods, cause that's the only thing she can do. There are tears coming down her cheeks. She stands up and starts walking out of the room. Still laughing, by the way. I groan once again and follow her to the twins' room.

Claire opens the door to Nicholas and Mia's room, and the moment she steps in, they both stop crying.

"Oh, come on!" I say.

Claire continues laughing. Since they stopped crying, we don't pick them up. I hover over Mia's crib and Claire over Nicholas'.

"You guys are killing me. You're lucky you're cute." I rub Mia's tummy.

"You two just wanted to let us know you were awake, didn't you?" Claire looks up at the clock on the wall. "I should probably feed you before you realize you're hungry and start crying, huh? What do you think?"

Nicholas starts cooing and Claire picks him up. "Good morning, sweetheart." She gives him a kiss on the cheek.

"Are you hungry, Mia? Just you wait until you have teeth, I'm so going to enjoy taking you and your brother to eat a greasy, very unhealthy, but delicious burger with a side of fries." Mia reaches for me and I pick her up.

"Excuse me. Do you want our children to be addicted to junk food?" Claire tells me sitting on the rocking chair with Nicholas.

I walk closer to her and lean against the wall beside her with Mia in my arms. "No, but every kid needs a little junk food. Don't worry, we won't eat any of it in front of you. You know what they say, what the eye doesn't see…"

"Don't make me hire lawyers, honey, 'cause you'll lose…" She tells me with a smirk.

"Yeah, right. Like you could live without me." I look down at Mia. "She can't. Mummy can't live without me."

"I think it's the other way around. _You_ obviously can't live without _me_. Don't let daddy fool you guys, he's become co-dependant." She caresses Nicholas' face and rubs Mia's foot.

Those were our weekends. Claire and I had to go to work, obviously. At first, we were both very anxious to leave them with a nanny, but we new we had to go. Finding a nanny though, that was a nightmare. Or, I should say, _Claire_ was the nightmare. I love her, but Jesus, no nanny was suitable enough, even though they came with excellent references.

It took us 2 weeks to find a nanny. It was the end of the day, we were both exhausted, and the babies were calm on their rocking cradles by some miracle. The doorbell rung, and a young woman who couldn't have been more than 25 years old was standing at the door with the friendliest smile you could imagine. We talked to her for 30 minutes, but on the first 5, Claire and I looked at each other and new we had finally, found the one.

Her name is Jane, she just graduated from college, she has a psychology degree _and_ she has twin brothers. She told us she was planning to take a year off before starting to study for her master's degree. That sealed the deal. Psychology degree, twin brothers and master's degree are words Claire recognizes and approves of.

Time starts passing by and we are lucky enough to witness all of the twins' first. The first time they start crawling, we are in the living room having tummy time, and by 'we', I mean Nicholas, Mia and I. Claire is sitting on the floor with her back against the couch responding to emails like crazy, apparently there had been some kind of crisis that required her attention on a Saturday morning, but she refused to go to the office.

"I can't believe I have to be doing this on a Saturday morning." She says typing furiously on her laptop.

I look up at her. "What happened exactly?"

"A half a million dollar transaction was made 2 weeks ago for a new piece of lab machinery, but something went wrong with the wiring of the money and now, the shipping of the order has been stopped, and the ship with the container that's supposed to bring that piece of machinery to Philadelphia, is leaving Finland today in the afternoon."

I whistle. Damn. "That sounds very serious. Are you sure you don't want to go to the office? I can hold the fort for a few hours."

She shakes her head. "No. The bank manager _assured_ me there were not going to be any problems. It's not my responsibility to fix that part, at least. Right now I'm emailing the sales rep from the company that sold us the piece of machinery in Finland. I have to call the Maersk Group to see if we can maybe get another container on another ship, but _that's_ not going to be cheap."

She stops typing and groans. "I really don't want to do this right now."

I stand up and sit in front of Claire. "One step at the time, alright? Plus, you always figure things out. Do all you have to do, and then we'll have a glass of wine. How does that sound?"

She smiles. "That sounds lovely. I could have one right now. The only thing stopping is the fact that it's 10am."

We laugh. "Go on, then. See the glass of wine at the end of the tunnel."

She shakes her head. "You're making me sound like an alcoholic."

I shrug. "We're all secretly alcoholics." I give her a peck and stand up to lie down with the twins again. When I turn around, I see only Nicholas on the blanket we had laid down on the living room floor.

"Where's Mia?" I ask turning left and right.

I hear the sound of typing stop. "What?"

I move so Claire can see the blanket. "We're missing a baby."

"What?! Mia! Mia!" She puts her laptop aside and stands up. We start looking everywhere for her, and then we hear a squeal. We walk towards the kitchen and there she is, crawling with a big, toothless smile on her face.

"Oh my God! She's crawling!" Claire moves in front of Mia and kneels down. "Come on, Mia. Come to mummy. Come on."

Mia stops and stares at Claire, and then a huge grin overtakes her face and she starts crawling towards her. At first it's a slow crawl, but when Claire starts talking to her, she starts moving as fast as her little arms and legs will allow her. When she reaches Claire, Claire picks her up and Mia squeals in delight.

"You crawled, Mia! You're getting so big! I'm so proud of you." Claire starts kissing her cheeks and Mia continues to squeal, delighted at all the attention she's getting from her mummy.

I'm smiling at them, shaking my head. I feel something bump me on the ankle. I look down confused, and I see Nicholas looking up at me with those big, green eyes.

"Nick! You crawled too, buddy! You wanted to join the party, didn't you?" I pick him up and give him a kiss on the cheek. Claire walks towards me, Mia still in her arms.

"You crawled too, sweetheart? I'm so proud of you too! Come here." Claire says. We switch babies and after a proper dosage of hugs and kisses, we put them down on the floor again. They start moving around, discovering what being mobile is.

At some point, we place them on one side of the living room and we walk opposite them and kneel down. We start calling them, and they're both still, not moving and then Nicholas moves his little arm forward, and that's all Mia needs. She starts moving forward furiously and Nicholas tries to catch up.

"See? If I had gone to the office I would've missed this. I don't want to miss their first _anything_. I couldn't forgive myself." Claire says picking Nicholas up once he gets to her.

During the first six months, we've realised that Mia is more attached to Claire and Nicholas is more attached to me. Is there a name for that? She's a momma's girl and he's a daddy's boy? I don't know. But when Mia starts crying, usually Claire is the one to go to her because she has a higher chance of calming her down faster, and the same is for myself with Nicholas.

But there's the occasional time I am betrayed by both my children. Claire and I came up with this game, where we put Mia and Nicholas together on the floor and Claire walks to one side and I to the opposite side, and we start calling their names. It's hilarious to see them look between the 2 of us, trying to decide which parent to crawl to. Usually, Nicholas crawls to me and Mia to Claire; but sometimes, they both crawl to Claire and I am left babyless. Claire hugs the both of them while laughing, and then _they_ start laughing, and I sit with my arms crossed.

"Traitors." I tell them.

The first time they walk, we both almost missed it. Claire and I went to a fundraiser at the zoo, and we had left the twins with Jane. We had a wonderful time, by the way. It was done at lunchtime, so all the potential contributors could see all the animals, because some of the animals have very specific schedules, so the event couldn't have been made at night without half of the animals missing. When we go back home, we see Jane holding both Nicholas and Mia by their hands. They are both standing up, which they have never done, and they're trying to steady themselves. They're both looking down at their feet.

We both stop dead in our tracks when we seem them standing up. 10 months ago they were these little, squishy things and now, they're about to start walking.

"Guys, come help them stay up. You should be doing this, not me." As soon as Jane tells us that, we're back online and we both kneel down and hold their little hands. Claire with Mia, and I with Nicholas. We tell them encouraging words and when we both feel sure enough that they can stand on their own, we let go of their hands. They wobble a little bit, we both have our hands hovering behind their backs just in case they fall, but soon, they are attempting to move forward. We hold their hands again, and they start moving their little legs in that weird angle babies do. They walk 4 steps before they land on their butts. We pick them up and let them know they did an excellent job.

"And I just sent you guys the video to your emails." Jane tells us putting her phone away.

We watch the video before going to bed and forward it to our family.

The first time they climb, Nicholas scared the bejesus out of us. It was the middle of the night, Claire and I were asleep, and we were woken up by the most awful cry you could imagine. Claire and I bolted out of bed to see what had made Nicholas cry like that (at that point we could identify each twin by their cries). Obviously, he must've startled Mia too, and she also started crying. When we open their bedroom door, I turn on the light and we see Nicholas sitting on the floor, his little hand on his forehead, crying his eyes out.

Claire picks him up and starts bouncing him up and down trying to calm him down. She looks at his forehead and sees a small cut and a little blood. This is his first injury. He's probably never felt this kind of pain before. Nothing serious. But enough to scare him. (and us)

I pick Mia up and try to calm her down too. Her eyes are a little wide and she's looking straight at Nicholas.

"Did you climb out of your crib, sweetheart? Don't worry, nothing a band-aid can't cure." Nicholas' cries turn into hiccupping and he rests his head on Claire's shoulder. "I know, I know. But you're climbing now, huh?"

Mia stops crying the moment Nicholas does. I give her a kiss on the forehead and lie her back down on her crib. Claire takes Nicholas to the bathroom to clean his cut and put the band-aid on. I stay with Mia.

"Was your brother impatient to start climbing?" I tell her. She just looks at me. "Boys are like that, a little more reckless. You were waiting until the morning to climb, weren't you? Try not to hit your head on the crib though."

Claire comes in with Nicholas, a Mickey Mouse band-aid on his forehead and his eyes already closing.

I walk over to them. "You okay, buddy?" I rub his back and he looks at me for half a second before his eyes close. I kiss his forehead and Claire lies him back down on his crib.

The next morning, we go to their room again, and we find they are both out of their cribs and sitting on the floor, playing with each other's pacifiers. Later that day, Claire and I bought padding for the cribs and put a rug to cushion any future falls.

The first time they talk. Oh, the day they said their first words I remember with great pride and a general sense of victory. It happened on a Wednesday afternoon, I had just arrived from work and I relieved Jane of her babysitting duties. The twins were having their afternoon nap, so I made myself a sandwich that would've made Phillip jealous, and sat down to watch some TV. About an hour later, Claire came home overly giddy. I relish in her happiness obviously, so I asked her what had caused her beautiful mood. And she told me she closed a deal that day that everyone had assured her was a dead cause. Claire, being as stubborn and competitive as she is, refused to settle and fought with nail and tooth, but she closed a multi-million dollar deal all by herself.

"Claire 1, Corporate executives 0." She tells me pulling a bottle of wine from the fridge. "The twins?" She asks me serving herself and I a glass of wine.

"Still napping. Should be up any minute now." I tell her standing up and walking to the kitchen. "So I was thinking. Nicholas and Mia are almost a year old…"

"Yes." She says dragging out the word.

"I think they're old enough to leave them for a little bit, and have that honeymoon in Switzerland? We can celebrate being married a year and a half there. What do you think?" I take my glass of wine and take a sip.

She takes her glass and swirls the wine around gently. "You know I wouldn't like anything else. But I don't know if they're ready for us to leave for, what? A week?"

I nod. "Yeah, I was thinking a week."

"I don't know." She takes a sip of wine.

I nod slowly. "Let me ask you this: do you not think they're ready for us to leave? Or are _you_ not ready to leave _them_?

She looks at me sideways. "Both?"

I raise an eyebrow and give her my best 'really?' face.

"Ugh, fine! I don't know, I've just – everyday for almost a year now we've been with them. The thought of waking up and not having to take care of them, even if it's just for a week, makes me…" she taps her hand on her chest.

"Anxious?" I give her the word she's looking for.

"Yes. Anxious." She exhales.

I put the glass of wine down, walk around the island and hold her hand. "Come over here." I pull her forward and guide her to the couch. "What did we promise each other the first time we laid Nicholas and Mia down on their cribs?"

She tilts her head to the side. "That we would do everything in our power to make sure we raised the best little people."

I nod. "Exactly. Part of it is making sure they're not spoilt. And we have been doing a great job at that. But they also have to learn that we're not always going to be there 24/7. Physically, of course. They need to learn their parents are people too, with lives."

"I know. But whom are we even going to leave them with? I don't think Jane can put her life on hold for a week to take care of Mia and Nicholas."

I smile at her. "That's why I talked to my parents, and they are more than willing to arrange things so they can work from their laptops, that way they can come to Philadelphia and bond with their grandchildren."

She smiles and shakes her head. "You thought of everything, didn't you?"

"Yep. I knew how you would feel, cause I feel the same way. Plus, think about it, we haven't _really_ been alone since we got married. The twins have always been there one way or the other."

She raises her eyebrows a bit. "That's true. I was huge when we got married."

"So? Is that a yes?" I ask getting closer to her.

She taps her finger on her lip. "Let me think…"

I grab her finger and pull it away from her lips so I can kiss her. I can feel her smiling. I am too.

"Look at that. We didn't have to wait until they were 18." I tell Claire.

She laughs. "Thank God!"

We hear the babies babbling through the baby monitor. We smile and I pick it up. They are both standing up on their cribs, little hands on the railing and they are pointing and babbling to each other. They are obviously having a conversation we can't understand.

"Are you recording this?" Claire asks me.

"Oh, yeah. This is too good." I smile as they both start bouncing on their places and keep pointing at each other.

We stop watching them through the monitor and go to their room, because they look like they're about to climb out of the crib and beat each other up.

I pick up Nicholas and Claire picks up Mia. "Why are you two fighting, huh?" I rub my cheek against Nicholas'. He doesn't like it when I do that. I don't think he likes the feel of my scruff on his cheek. He leans backwards when I do, but he sees it as a game, if the big smile on his face is anything to go by.

"What? You don't like this, Nick?" I do it again and again. At one point, I put my hand behind his back and press him against me so he has no escape.

He squeals and puts his hands on my chest trying to push himself away from me. _And then_ he says it.

"Daa-daa."

I stop to look at him and then I look at Claire. "Did he just…?"

She's looking at him, nothing but pride in her eyes. "I think he did."

I start laughing. "Can you say it again, buddy? Who am I?" I rub my cheek against his one more time, and he squeals in delight once again. Then he points a chubby finger at me and says, "Daa-daa."

I start doing a happy dance and stick my tongue out to Claire. "His first word was dada."

As expected, she gives me a deadpan look. "Really? You're going to turn this into a competition?"

" _Me?_ Who was the one being all cocky when they both went running to you and left me crouching there like an idiot?!" I tell her.

She smirks. "Yeah, that was a good day. Fine. Whatever. You can have this one."

"Oh, you're _giving_ me this one?" I ask her.

She nods. "You are going to say mama first, aren't you Mia?"

"So that's your plan? Take our daughter's free will and make her say mama, even though she is probably going to say dada first?"

"Who says she's going to say dada, first?" she asks raising her eyebrow.

"Who says she isn't?" I fight back.

Suffice to say, she said dada first later that day. Claire was _bitter_ , but secretly proud and as happy as ever.

We decided not too long ago, that it wouldn't be a bad idea for each of us to have some time alone by ourselves with one twin. So basically, every Saturday Claire will spend time with one twin, and I with the other and we would alternate. Today is my day with Nicholas, and I decide to take him to the park today. Babies have a lot of energy, period. But baby boys are basically vibrating the whole time. And I've seen him. Sometimes he's trying to climb onto the couch or a chair, while Mia is sitting on the floor playing with blocks. I want him to release all that cooped up energy he has.

"What are you planning to do with Mia today?" I ask Claire as we start picking up the dishes after breakfast.

"I was thinking it would be nice to take her to the Archaeology & Anthropology museum." She starts loading the dishwasher.

"What?" I frown.

She smiles. "I'm kidding. She seems to enjoy the water, so I'm going to take her on a ferry ride."

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Oh. You scared me for a second there."

"Really? Were you honestly expecting me to take an 11 month old to the Archaeology & Anthropology museum?" She says closing the dishwasher.

I shrug. "Well, it's you…"

She puts a hand on her hip. "What is _that_ supposed to mean?"

Oh, _shit_. "You know, you're so…" I'm trying to look for the right word here!

"So _what_?" Like I said before, if she would've been Darth Vader, I would be dead already.

"So… intelligent, educated and there's nothing I can't talk to you about, because you know everything. And you're _so_ sexy. Behati Prinsloo, Gigi Hadid and all of those Victoria Secret models have nothing on you." I say all that in one breath and finish it with a smile.

"How would you know what Behati Prinsloo and Gigi Hadid look like?" she asks with that soft, yet menacing tone.

"I, uh, I haven- You know… twitter?" I think I feel a little sweat in my ass crack.

She walks over to me and whispers in my ear. "Don't worry. I look at hot models every once in a while too." She giggles and starts picking up the stray pieces of cereal the twins managed to get everywhere.

"What? Which models?" Claire is clearly unperturbed that I've been looking for a few more seconds than necessary at Victoria Secret models; but why do I feel so, so…

"Are you jealous?" she asks throwing the pieces of cereal in the trash. She's clearly amused.

"Me? Please. Jealous?! Me? Huh!" I start puffing.

"Good. I mean, there's this model, he has his V muscle very much defined. It's almost like an arrow pointing to his… _soul_. You know?" She's having way too much fun with this.

"Yeah, well, he's what? 20 years old? It's kinda hard working those muscles when you're a certain age." V muscle, my ass.

"Actually, he's your exact same age. He's 36. His name is David Gandy, by the way. If you wanna look him up." She mouths the words 'so sexy'.

She starts walking past me, but I grab her by the waist. "I'll show you sexy."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah." I confirm.

"Gandy sexy?" She asks me, hands on my chest.

I shake my head slowly. "Grady sexy."

"I look forward to you shaming David Gandy." She starts drawing circles on my chest with her finger.

"You should." I close the small space between us and kiss her. My hand goes to the small of her back and I bring her closer to me. I feel her arms loop around my neck.

"Maa-maa." We hear Mia call from the living room.

I pull back and look at Claire. "Duty calls."

"I guess it does. We'll continue this _talk_ at night, I hope?" She asks, her arms still looped around my neck.

"I don't know. They do say actions speak louder than words, so…"

She smiles a wicked smile and gives me a peck before walking to the living room where we left the twins, well in our line of sight.

We dress Mia and Nicholas and we each head out for our day of bonding.

I put Nicholas in his car sit and make sure everything is well strapped and secure. I close the door and sit in front of the wheel. I turn around to look at him and he's hugging his teddy.

"Are you ready to have fun, Nick?" I ask him.

"Daa-daa."

"Well, let's go then!" I start the car, pull out from my assigned spot and head to the park.

Mia and Nicholas are almost a year old, so they've started full on babbling now. They can say 'mama' and 'dada', but that's about it. Claire and I are sure they understand the words 'no' and 'bye-bye', but it's still a guessing game when something hurts or they're bothered by something.

Nicholas and I have a fantastic day at the park. The kid was ecstatic when he saw the playground games, the sand and the vast amounts of green. We try not to pick them up too much, and let them walk as much as they can. As soon as I got him out of his car sit and his little feet touched the floor, he started running. And I let him. I didn't hold his hand or anything. I just made sure there weren't any potential hazards in his immediate surroundings and let him be free.

Although, maybe I should've thought that one a little bit more through. He started running on the direction of the playground, and when his feet landed on the sand, he fell to his knees and started playing with it. But then he decided to taste it. I run the few steps to him and picked him up from the sand. There was a water fountain close by, so I managed to wash his mouth there.

"Crunchy?" I asked him.

He stuck his tongue out and I laughed. I washed the remaining grains of sand out of his tongue. When I dried his mouth, he went back to the sandpit, but he didn't try to eat it again.

After he got bored with playing with the buckets and trucks, I held his hand and guided him to the big open park, away from the playground. I let go of him and we started playing with a ball I brought from home. He started kicking it, and he laughed particularly hard when his kicks were a little too strong and I had to go for it. He did that a million times. A good workout for me, I guess. Then, it turned into a chasing game. He squealed like I've never heard him squeal before. Every time I caught him, I tickled him. He loved it.

For lunchtime, I opened the trunk of the car and sat there with Nicholas. We had a delicious lunch of apple juice, macaroni and a blueberry muffin. After that, he asked to be picked up and I did. I think he was almost out of energy by then. I walked to the small lake where 3 or 4 ducks lived and we sat on a bench watching them until Nicholas fell asleep. When I felt him go slump in my arms, I stood up and walked back to the car. I put him in his car seat, careful not to wake him and gave him a kiss on the side of his head.

*Heading home. Nick's passed out. * I text Claire.

She answers almost immediately. *Just got home. Mia's still awake, shouldn't be long before she falls asleep too. *

*Okay. See you in a bit. *

I drive home without a glitch. I'm riding the elevator up to the apartment and I suddenly feel drained. No wonder he's passed out. At least he released all that energy. I open the door to the apartment, and I walk to twins' room to lie Nicholas down on his crib. When I open the door, I see Claire reading out loud something from work, not sure what it is, but she is carrying Mia, her head on Claire breast bone, pacifier on her mouth.

"Hey." I whisper to Claire and walk up to her.

"Hey. Did you two have fun?" She asks caressing Nicholas' head.

"Yeah, I took some pictures. I'll show you in a bit. How about you two?"

"She loved it. She kept pointing at the seagulls and wanted to be close to the railing the whole time. There were picnic tables at the harbour and we ate our lunch there. Didn't we, Mia?"

Mia looks up at Claire and points to the file she's holding.

I point at her hand. "What are you reading to her?"

"I wasn't reading to her. I want to get a head start on the development of the annual audit, so I'm reading the quarterly assessments and long-range forecasts, and I thought I could kill two birds with one stone, and was hoping that if I read it in a soothing enough tone, maybe she would fall asleep. But so far, if anything, she's more awake than before. And every time I put the papers down, she starts complaining."

I raise my eyebrows and look at Mia. "Do you want to be a senior assets manager, Mia?"

Obviously she doesn't understand what a senior operations manager is, but she nods nonetheless. Claire smiles and gives her a kiss.

I walk to Nicholas' crib and lie him down. Claire keeps reading her quarterly assessments to Mia.

"The company's forecasted spending for 2016–17 is expected to be $30.6 million, a decrease of $2 million (7.1 percent) from 2015–16 actual spending. This is mainly attributable to an anticipated $1.9-million decrease in anticipated cost-recoverable activities…"

Look at that. Mia is Claire's mini-me.

The twins' first birthday comes, and I can't believe they've been with us for a year. Claire and I are throwing them a birthday party at the zoo. We've taken them there a couple of times and they went absolutely crazy when they saw all the animals. Nicholas was in love with the tigers and Mia with the alligators. So we thought, 'why not?'. Plus, me working there, I can pull some strings and make it particularly awesome for them today.

The same polar bear that was rescued a few days before the twins were born, got pregnant in captivity, and she gave birth 5 weeks ago. I managed to get the twins 40 minutes with the cubs. So we're going a little earlier to the zoo today.

We invited all of our family of course. We also invited Jane, some friends from work who have kids and have played with Nicholas and Mia, Claire also invited some of her friends with kids. We told Phillip with enough anticipation so he could come, and he will. Isa and Alex got here two days ago, and yesterday they watched the kids, while Claire and I bought the final supplies for the party.

We came home yesterday to find Isa, Alex and the twins dancing like they were possessed. The music was blasting through the speakers they had brought; the twins were jumping up and down and doing the occasional lap around the living room, and Isa and Alex were basically doing the same thing but with a little more rhythm.

Claire and I froze at the door, and looked at them. I recognized the singer. Her name is Laura Pausini, but I didn't recognize the song. Nicholas turned and saw us. He laughed and ran towards us. To Alex and Isabella's credit, even though the music was loud and they were obviously very into their dancing, they immediately turned their attention to Nicholas the moment he started moving. That's when they saw us and paused the music.

"Noo." Mia and Nicholas said at the same time. That's another word they've learnt to say. No.

"Hey, guys. We're doing some cardio." Alex said wiping the sweat off his forehead with his sleeve.

"I can see that." Claire said closing the apartment door.

"What song is that?" I asked them.

"Io c'ero. From Laura Pausini's new album. Nonna's orders. She said to give them a dose of Italy." Isa said a little out of breath.

"Oh, it has a different vibe."

She nodded. "Yeah, she's doesn't sing as many ballads in this album as she usually does."

"I like Laura Pausini." Claire said.

"You've heard her music?" Isabella asked.

Claire puts the bags on the kitchen. "Yeah. She sings in Spanish too. While I was studying Spanish in university, I was looking for ways to train my ear a little more, so I started buying cds, and I bought hers."

"Oh, right. I forgot she is huge in Latin America too."

"Itah." Mia walked up to Isa and tapped her leg.

"You want to keep dancing, Mia?"

Mia nodded enthusiastically.

Claire and I looked at each other. "Wow, she can say your name?" I asked Isa.

Isa looked at us. "Oh yeah. They both did like an hour ago. They can't quite get the s sound yet, but they pretty much have it down. Nico, come here." She called for Nicholas and he went obediently up to her. She sat down on the floor and guided each baby to either side of her. "What's my name?" She asked Mia.

Mia pointed to Isa's nose and said, "Itah."

"Yes, Mia! I'm Isa. How about you, Nico? Who am I?" She asked Nicholas.

Nicholas laid his hand on Isa's shoulder and started patting it in that clumsy way babies do. "Itah. Itah."

"Very good, Nico! You're both so smart!" She gave them both a kiss on the cheek.

Claire and I stared dumbly at Isa. How does she _do_ that? The twins haven't seen her in at least 3 months. She's with them for 2 hours and they can say her name already?!

"Why are you guys looking at me like that?" Isa asked getting a bit self-conscious.

"One of three. One: they're understanding more. Two: you have mutant powers, or three: Claire and I are doing something wrong." I told Isa.

She laughed confused. "What?"

Claire walked into the living room and sat on the arm of the couch. "Every time we call them, we have to repeat it at least twice before they obey. Every time we want to teach them a new word, simple words, it takes us like a week for them to even repeat it. You are with them for 2 hours and they can already say your name? And you call them and they obeyed without even thinking about it."

"Well, then you're going to freak out when you see this. Alex do the thing." Isa told Alex.

Alex nodded, stood up from the couch and called Mia and Nicholas. "Mia. Nico. Eyes on me, please." They turned towards him immediately.

"Come on!" I said walking into the living room and standing besides Claire.

"That's not it." Isa told us.

Alex stretched his neck muscles and did the wave. The twins squealed and then laughed.

"A-eh-x." They both said.

"What?! The hell?!" I said. "We're doing something wrong." I told Claire and she nodded.

"Come on! You're not doing anything wrong. I think it's because they can tell Alex and I are just here to have fun. Maybe there something going on psychologically, I don't know."

We nodded slowly looking down at the twins. They were both very content being with their aunt.

"I guess we should ask Jane." Claire says.

"Yeah, we'll ask her on Monday."

"Oh hey. Did you know your twins _love_ Britney Spears?" Isa said standing up and moving to the speakers. Mia and Nicholas followed her like little ducklings.

"Really?" Claire asks.

"Yeah, look." She went down her playlist and played 'You drive me (crazy)'.

The minute the music started playing the twins immediately started moving, and the moment Britney started singing, they lost it. Claire and I laughed, and I pulled out my cell phone and recorded about 30 seconds of it, because soon enough, both Nicholas and Mia kept calling us.

"Guys, I think they want you to dance. Come on!" Alex said never stopping his dancing.

I stood up and started dancing immediately. Claire just looked up at me for a second and then succumbed to peer pressure.

"Fine!" She stood up and let go like I've probably never seen her do before.

The song ended and another song immediately followed. A very electronic song came on, with the laser sounds and the strong beats. We all immediately changed styles. Alex and Isa where in their comfort zone there, Claire and I started pumping it like Jersey Shore, and the twins were doing the same thing as before, but with more erratic moves.

Out of nowhere though, Mia put her hands on the floor and started _twerking_. I stopped dancing.

"Look at her go! Go, Mia! Go, Mia!" Isabella kept encouraging her, and Mia kept doing it. Then Isabella started twerking, and of course Nicholas started twerking. And apparently twerking is contagious, because next thing I know, Alex started twerking and then Claire started twerking. Yes, Claire. They were all following Mia's lead.

And I refused to encourage my daughter to twerk!

I walk over to the speakers and pause the music. Everyone immediately started complaining.

"Hey! Buzz kill." Isa told me.

"Why did you stop the music? We were all having a lot of fun." Claire said.

"I'm sorry. Did you not see our almost 12 month-old daughter _twerk_?"

She widens her eyes a little. "I did. And she was enjoying it."

I looked at her perplexed. "No daughter of mine is going to twerk!"

"Oh crap. Just wait until she's at least 13 and tell her that again; she's going to hate your guts!" Isa started laughing and everyone followed.

Claire crossed her arms. "I'm sorry. Nicholas was also twerking and I don't see you bothered about that."

"It's different. He's a boy." I told Claire.

"Ohhhhh." Alex and Isa said. "You did _not_ just make that comment in these feminists times, Owen." Isa told me.

"You know what? I'm not going to say anything because I know that's your protective side coming out, but know that Isa is right. If you talk to her the way you just did right now, when she's a teenager don't expect her to be all 'Yes, daddy. Whatever you want, daddy', cause that's not going to happen. _Especially_ if it turns out that she really is like me." She smiled at me with that smile that tells me she's 100% sure she's right.

"I don't like this." I told Claire.

She rubbed my arm in a fake soothing manner. "I know. But if I were you, I would let her twerk her little butt away now, while it's cute, you know?"

"Think about it, Owen. If now, at almost 1 year old, she's _this good_ , when she's my age she could be a professional twerker." Isa told me. I turned to her slowly and pushed her.

She laughed and we continued… _twerking_.

That was yesterday, and I am still not over it. But maybe Claire is right, if Mia gets it out of her system now, maybe later she won't even care. And whom am I kidding? That was stinking _cute_. Mia and Nicholas twerking was just cute.

For the last month or so, Nicholas and Mia have been climbing out of their cribs and walking to our bedroom in the morning. Thank goodness they only do that on Sundays. Don't ask me how they know only to do it on Sundays, but they must've figured out what days we're up early and what days we stay in. Since their birthday is today, and today happens to be Sunday, right on schedule, we hear the patter of little feet outside the door.

Normally, we open the door and we immediately take them to the kitchen to have breakfast. We figured that if we let them in our bedroom, then they would get used to it, and we didn't want that. But, today is their first birthday. I think we can make an exception.

I stand up from the bed and open the door. They think we're going to the kitchen, so they stretch out their hands like they usually do, but I lean down and pick them both up and close the bedroom door with my foot. They look confused at first, but when they see Claire lying down on the bed, a big smile on her face and her arms stretched out to them, they start calling her.

Claire pulls down the bed sheets and I put the twins down on my side of the bed, but they quickly scurry away to Claire.

"Mama." They both say.

"Come here." She tells them and they do. They are practically on top of Claire. "Happy birthday, my loves." She gives them each a couple of kisses.

I get into bed again and cover us with the bed sheets. "Guys, today's your birthday! You're turning 1 today!" I grab Mia and Nicholas' ankle and pull them down the bed a bit and start blowing raspberries on their stomachs. They laugh their butts off and Claire continues giving them kisses. We have our regular breakfast; the only difference is that we all can't stop smiling. We get the children and ourselves ready, and we go to the zoo.

I haven't even told Claire what the twins' surprise is. I just told her I had managed to get them 40 minutes with the newest members of the zoo. She made me promise that as long as the surprise wasn't playing with tigers or swimming with alligators, she was okay with being surprised too.

Since we found out yesterday that the twins love Britney Spears and Laura Pausini, I downloaded all of their biggest and most famous hits and played it on the car on our way to the zoo. The moment I put the music on they started their babble and started dancing on their sits. We have little dancers in our hands it would seem.

It takes us almost 30 minutes to get there, but the twins don't even notice. They just keep dancing. I park the car on the opposite side of the main entrance, where I usually park for work. We each take a twin from their sit and put them down on the floor. Mia takes my hand and Claire, Nicholas'.

"Will you now tell me which animal they're going to be playing with?" Claire asks, following me into the offices.

"Just a little longer. We'll both get to play with them too."

"So there's more than one?" she asks.

"Yup. And if it's any comfort, they're both 5 weeks old. So pretty much harmless."

"They better be." She says under her breath.

"I heard that." I say pointing to her.

She just smiles.

We walk through a labyrinth of hallways until we get to the restricted area. I pull my pass from my back pocket and tap it on the scan. I wait for the sound of the locks unlocking and push the metallic door open. I walk in first with Mia and hold the door for Nicholas and Claire.

"What is this area exactly? What kind of work is done in here?" Claire asks.

We pass several laboratories, all with floor to ceiling glass windows, much like the ones in the laboratories of Jurassic World; but friendlier. The twins slow down and start looking curiously around, but we keep moving.

"This is were I spend most of my days when new animals are brought in. To the left over there, there's a huge room with monitors everywhere. That's where I sit with my colleagues and we analyse the behaviour of the animals, we develop theories, that kind of thing. The days I'm not doing that, I'm in my office, which is on the 10th floor of this same building. It gives us a beautiful view of the zoo."

Claire nods. "I've just realised we've never been in each other's offices."

I look at her and think a moment about that. "Yeah. That's weird. We could go to mine after we're done here. There's not much to see, but you'll love the view."

She nods. We make a right and I open the last door at the end of the corridor. There are a bunch of balls and colourful mats, and the twins start moving towards them when they see them. It's not meant for them, but it'll keep them occupied while I go get their surprises.

"Okay. I'll be back in a minute, I'll go get their birthday present." I tell Claire.

"Okay." She sits down on the floor and Nicholas starts kicking the ball, while Mia starts picking them up and dropping them next to Claire.

I exit the room and close the door behind me. I turn to the left and open the door to the feeding room. It's about lunchtime for the cubs, so they should be there.

"Hey, Owen."

"Hi, Emma. How's your Sunday going?" I ask her.

"Good. What's better than feeding a baby polar bear?" She says while holding one of the baby bears and feeding it with a bottle.

Emma is an intern vet. She started working at the zoo 6 months ago. She's one of those people who is always smiling and willing to help anyone and anything. Which makes her kinda perfect for the job.

"Your wife and kids are here?" She asks me putting the bottle down.

"Yeah, they're in the playroom. Are both bears fed?"

"Yep. They're all yours. Oh, uh – " She puts the bear behind the small barrier to prevent it from running away. "Arthur went to look for you on Friday to your office but he didn't find you and he had to get on a plane, so he couldn't contact you, but he wanted to know if it was okay for me to record your kids with the bears? He said it would be a good source to consult on the cubs' behaviour and if the video was cute and fluffy, maybe they could upload it to the zoo's webpage."

"Oh. I'm cool with it, but really, the one with the decisive vote is Claire. You'll have to ask her." I say going over the barrier and picking up one of the bears.

"Okay. Let's go then." She says. I pass her the bear I'm holding and I pick up the other teeny tiny bear.

We walk the few steps to the playroom and I open the door. As soon as I do, Mia, Nicholas and Claire turn towards me and their eyes widen.

"Oh my God." Claire laughs.

Emma steps in behind me and closes the door. We walk to the middle of the room and sit down in front of the twins.

"Happy birthday, guys." I tell them and let the bear free. Emma follows my lead. "Claire, this is Emma. Emma, my wife Claire."

Emma stretches her hand out to Claire. "Nice to meet you, Claire."

"Nice to meet you, Emma. Are you in charge of the bears?" Claire asks her.

"For the weekends, yes. During the week I take care of the chimpanzees and the sea lions. A very glamorous job, as you might imagine. But quite rewarding."

We laugh and turn our attention to the kids and the bears. Currently Nicholas is having his hand nibbled by one of the bears and he finds it hilarious. And Mia is hugging the bear and it couldn't be more content with all the love it's receiving from my girl.

"Hey Claire, Arthur, Owen's and I's boss, wanted to know if it was okay for me to record Mia and Nicholas with the bears for about a minute or so. He wants footage of how the bears interact with people that are normally not around them, and if it's a cute video, maybe the zoo will upload it to the official webpage."

Claire looks at me. "What do you think?"

"I'm cool with it. Up to you." I tell Claire.

"I'm going to focus more on the bears than on your kids, if that's something you're concerned about…" Emma tells her.

Claire nods. "Okay, sure."

"Great. Thanks." Emma pulls from her pocket a Go Pro camera, turns it on and places it on the floor in front of her.

Both bears start going to the balls and Mia and Nicholas proceed to take it away from them and throwing them as far as they can, and the bears chase after it happily. Once they get to them, they push them with their noses back to Nicholas and Mia so they can throw it again.

"That was almost too perfect." Emma says picking up the Go Pro camera and turning it off. "Thanks again. I'll tell Arthur to send you the link as soon as it's up on the page."

I nod and we continue watching the kids. At one point, one of the bears walks up to Claire and starts climbing on her lap. Claire starts rubbing its back and Nicholas starts copying Claire's moves and rubs its back too. Mia is lying down on the floor letting the bear lick her face as much as it wants.

40 minutes pass by, and I can already tell the twins are not going to be happy when we take the bears away.

"Okay, guys. Time to say bye-bye to the bears." I pick up the bear that's on Claire's lap and Nicholas immediately starts complaining. "Can you give him a kiss goodbye, Nick? Give it a kiss bye-bye."

He leans forward, gives it a sloppy kiss and pats his head. I give Emma the okay to take the bear that Mia is playing with.

"Give it a kiss bye-bye too, Mia. Time to say bye-bye." Claire tells her. She does, much like Nicholas and tears immediately start filling her eyes. Claire holds them both to stop them from following us. They start full on crying when I open the door.

"I can take them both, Owen. Don't worry about it. Just give me a second. I have something for the kids." Emma says, and I pass her the bear I'm holding.

"Okay." I close the door after her and walk back to Claire. She lets go of Mia and she runs towards me. I pick her up. "It's okay, Mia. That was fun, wasn't it? Don't cry. It's your birthday! You're supposed to be having fun. You too, Nick."

I stretch out my hand to Claire and help her stand up. She picks up Nicholas and wipes his tears with her thumb. "Did you two have fun with the baby bears? They were cute, weren't they?" She rubs Nicholas' back.

"That was really amazing, Owen." She leans forward and gives me a kiss.

"So I don't have to sleep on the couch or anything like that?" I ask her.

"Nah. You're okay… for now."

Mia and Nicholas have stopped crying, but they are still sniffling. The door opens and Emma comes in again, holding 2 stuffed polar bears. The twins' backs straighten right away as soon as their eyes land on the stuffed bears. Emma walks up to us and hands them each a bear.

"One for the birthday boy, and one for the birthday girl. Happy birthday, little ones!" Emma says.

They forget they were upset and hold on to those bears for dear life.

"Thank you so much, Emma. You didn't have to do that." Claire tells her.

She waives it off. "I knew they would be upset when it was time for the bears to be taken away. I reacted the same way when I was kid. Maybe you have a couple of animal lovers in your hands."

We laugh. "I'm starting to think that." I tell Emma. "Thank you so much."

"It was nothing. I hope you four have a lovely day. I'll leave you to it. Nice to meet you, Claire."

Claire gives her a sideways hug. "Can you give Emma a kiss bye-bye, Nicholas?"

Nicholas leans forward and gives Emma a loud, wet kiss and I ask Mia to do the same, and she does. (May I note that we didn't have to repeat it twice? Maybe Isa was onto something with the whole having fun thing.)

We say our final goodbyes, thank Emma once again and we walk back to the parking lot to move the car closer to where the birthday party is going to be.

"Oh, wait. We said we would stop by the office so you could see it." I tell Claire.

She pulls her cell phone out of her back pocket and checks the time. "Maybe we could come after the party or some other day, it's 11am already. Guests should start arriving soon."

I roll my eyes. "You and your itineraries. Fine, let's go."

She stays in her spot and looks at me for a second. "You know what? I changed my mind." She tells me.

I nod, turn around and start walking back into the building.

"You _can_ sleep on the couch tonight."

I stop abruptly. "Hey! I thought you meant… argh!"

"Where's your cell phone?" Claire asks me.

I pat my pockets and feel nothing. "I must've forgotten it in the car."

"Isa just texted. They're already here and the rest of the guests can't be far behind."

"Oh. Okay. You're right. You're always right. I don't' want to sleep on the couch, please." I do my best puppy dog eyes.

"I'll think about it." She turns around with Nicholas and walks to the car.

We move the car to the east parking lot, which is the parking lot reserved for the people who are having some sort of event at the zoo. Apparently, we're the only ones celebrating something today, because we are the only car in the whole parking lot. There's one other car, which I'm assuming must be Alex and Isa's rental. I park next to them and turn off the engine. I see the door of the car next to us open, and as I thought, Alex comes down. He looks a little out of breath for some reason. He waives at us and then walks to the other side of his car to, I assume, open the door for Isa.

I get out of the car and take Nicholas out of his car sit and Claire does the same with Mia. We put them on the floor and we walk to Alex and Isa. I lock the car.

"They make it look so easy in movies. We're never doing that again." I hear Isa whisper to Alex.

"Yeah, we probably should've thought that one a bit more through. Still hurts?"

We round the car and see Alex with his arm around Isa's back, holding her up. They move a few steps and I see that Isa is limping.

"Hey, what happened? Are you okay?" I ask her.

She nods. "I'll be okay. I think I pulled a muscle. I just need to walk it off. I don't think it's that bad."

She says trying to put some weight on her right leg.

"How did you do that?" I ask her.

Alex and Isa look at each other for a second, and I can see the blush creeping up their necks.

"Um, don't ask questions you don't want to know the answer to, Owen." She tells me.

I frown and look at them, not understanding what could possibly have happe-

"Oh! God! Isa! At the zoo?!" I ask her trying to erase the mental image that has undeniably settled on my brain.

"We got here 30 minutes ago, we had some time to kill and the parking lot was empty…" Isa says.

Claire starts laughing. "I tried that once. Yeah, not as advertised."

"What?! When?!" I ask her in shock. "You know what? I don't even wanna know." I tell Claire. Jesus!

She smiles at me. "Yeah, you probably don't wanna know."

Isa starts moving forward, still limping, and manages to kneel down with a grimace on her face.

"Happy birthday, Mia and Nico! Give me a hug!" She tells them.

They let go of both our hands and give Isa a big hug. "Those are some nice bears. Are those your birthday presents?"

They nod and hug those bears a little tighter. "They got to play with baby polar bears. And when it was time for them to be taken away, they started crying. Emma, the vet, gave them that as a present to try and calm them down. It worked." I tell them, making sure they see the slight disgust in my face.

"Cool. You guys look in love with those." She says, ignoring my facial expressions.

"Yeah, I think we're gonna have a hard time separating them from those bears." Claire says.

"Good luck. Alex, help me up." Isa tells him.

He goes immediately to help her and we start walking, albeit slowly, to the hut we booked for the twins' birthday. The birthday party was officially a success. The whole family and friends were there and the twins had a blast. We did too.

3 months pass by, and Claire and I are going to Switzerland to finally celebrate our belated honeymoon. The night before, Claire let the twins sleep in our bed, and they happily obliged. She was starting to get anxiety and started telling me that maybe this wasn't such a good idea.

"What if something happens? We're going to be in a whole other continent, we won't be able to get here fast enough." She tells me from the shower.

I open my suitcase and start checking for anything I could be missing. "What _is_ going to happen, Claire? Nothing's happened in the 15 months they've been on this Earth."

"I know. But something could happen."

"If something does happen, I'm sure my parents are going to be more than capable to handle it while we get here. But I really doubt anything will, to be honest. Mia and Nicholas are mellow babies. Plus, Jane already talked to my parents and she's more than willing to come help them out if they need to. So stop trying to find excuses to not go to Switzerland." I tell her putting my headphones and my iPod in the pocket of the suitcase.

"Don't make it sound like I don't want to go with you, cause I do! It's just that I don't want to leave them." She says and I hear the sound of the water stop.

"They need this as much as we do. Do I need to repeat all of the reasons as to why it's okay to leave them for a week?" I say closing the zipper of the suitcase.

"No, you don't."

"Good. It's going to be okay, Claire. Really. We're going to have fun, and you're going to show me your favourite places, and I'm sure I will love them as much as you do. And maybe someday, when Mia and Nicholas are older, we could go back with them. It's okay to feel anxious, but don't let that influence your decisions. Do you really want to be that mum? The ones that are practically attached to the hips of their kids, and their kids hate them?"

She comes out of the bathroom wearing a robe and a towel wrapped around her head. "No. But you're right. I remember in school I was so grateful I had the mum I had, because others had mothers that I would have slapped a long time ago. You're right. You all done packing?"

"Yup. You?"

"Almost."

Claire finishes getting her suitcases ready, and when they are all ready to go, I bring them out to the living room. The doorbell sounds in that moment and I go to open the door.

"Son, good to see you."

"Hey, dad." I hug him and pull his suitcase inside the apartment. "Mum. How was your flight?" I hug her too.

"It was good. No eventualities." He tells me. "Where's Red?"

"She's finishing getting ready. Maybe you can give her some reassurance, mum. She's supper anxious about living Nicholas and Mia." We sit down on the couch.

"Trust me, topolino, that's completely normal. Ask your father how _I_ was when I went back to university 6 months after you were born."

"It took 40 minutes to convince her to go into classes. She was standing outside the classroom and refused to let go of you." He says.

"Wow." I say.

"Yeah. I think she's handling better than I was. I see all your suitcases are ready." She says pointing to them.

"Yeah, that's why I told her a while back, so she would have time to process it." I say.

"Hello." Claire says stepping into the living room with the baby monitor in her hand. Mum and dad stand up and hug her.

"Your flight okay?" she asks sitting besides me.

"Yes, everything went perfectly. Owen tells us you're very anxious." Mum tells her.

Claire nods a bit embarrassed. "Yeah. I mean, rationally I know both of them couldn't be in better hands, but at the same time…"

"You feel that nothing's happened to them _because_ you've been here." Mum finishes for her.

"Yeah." She says.

"Look, I was a nervous wreck the first time I had to leave Owen too, but the worst part is the first day. After I came home that day and saw he was his usual happy self, I realised there was nothing to worry about."

"Yes, but I won't be seeing them for a week. I think that's what's messing with my head." Claire tells mum.

"I know the circumstances are different. But times have also changed. You get to see them even though you're in a completely different country. You can call us via Skype every day and see them, if that's what will help you see that there's nothing to worry about. But the point is, you should get to enjoy yourself on this trip. If your mind is going to be here all the time, then what's the point in even going?" Mum asks her.

Claire nods. "Yes, you're right. If we don't go, I'll probably regret it later. Thanks, Emilia."

"Of course."

10 minutes later, the twins wake up and we go pick them up from their cribs and walk to the living room with them. They're still groggy, so they both lay their heads on our shoulders.

"Their hair has started to curl." Dad says.

"Yeah, it's darker too. Almost the same shade as Isabella's." I tell them. 20 more minutes pass by, and it's time for Claire and I to head to the airport.

"Oh God. Okay. See you in a week, sweetheart." She says kissing Nicholas' temple. "Behave for nonna and nonno, please. Oh, they love to climb out of their cribs on Sundays, they always stand outside our bedroom, but no one's going to be there, so keep an eye out for that." Nicholas wraps his arms around Claire almost as if he knew he wasn't going to see her in a little bit.

I pass Mia to Claire and she passes Nicholas to me. "They also love to snuggle with their stuffed polar bears, so if they have a fit, just give it to them. There's one in each crib. Remember the ones they had at their birthday party?"

Mum nods. "I remember."

"Okay. I'm going to miss you, Mia. Are you going to be a good girl?" She asks her.

Mia nods, pacifier still in her mouth. Claire gives her a kiss on her forehead and lingers for a little bit. "See you in a few days. I love you." She passes Mia to dad.

"Okay, bud. Be good and don't pee in nonna's eye. That would be rude. Got it?" I ask Nicholas.

He doesn't even bother to nod. I kiss him on the temple and pass him to mum. I move our suitcases to the door and we say our goodbyes to mum and dad.

"Thank you again for doing this, guys." I hug them both.

"That's what we're here for. Have fun you two. You'll be amazed when you realise you can have an adult conversation without feeling like you have to look over your shoulders every 5 seconds." Dad tells us.

I laugh. "I look forward to that."

Claire hugs mum and dad and gives the twins a final kiss. "If anything happens, even if it's something little, please – "

"It's okay, Claire. They are going to be fine. I promise. Now go. Have fun!" mum tells her.

Claire nods and looks at the twins one more time before turning around, and we both leave for the airport.

I'm not going to tell you all the details about our honeymoon, 'cause I could go on and on and on. But in summary, I can tell you that it was amazing! We went in August, so there was no snow. Claire kept telling me to shut up, 'cause every time I saw a mountain I started singing 'The Sound of Music". I couldn't help it! We had a blast. We really did. And mum was right too. The first 2 days we called to see how things were going and the twins couldn't have been happier. After that, we only called 3 more times. The food, the sights, the city, the people, the hotel room ( _ahem_ ), everything was beautiful and perfect. I saw why it was Claire's favorite place. But before we even landed in Switzerland, something happened at the airport in Philly. I met someone I never thought I would meet. I hadn't spared that person a thought, but unfortunately we met. Now I do feel like telling you about that, 'cause it still pisses me off!

So, Claire and I were on our way to the airport, she kept drumming her fingers on her thigh, looking out the window.

"Is there anything I can do for you to make you feel less anxious?" I asked her. I knew at that point, it was pointless to tell her not to worry. We were officially leaving the twins for a week and she wouldn't be able to see them until we got to the hotel.

"I think I could have a glass of wine right now. I don't even care that it is…" she pulled out her cell phone and looked at the time. "9:30am. I really don't care."

I smiled. "Okay then. We'll go into the lounge and we'll have a glass of wine. We can look like alcoholics together. Yolo, right?"

She laughs. "Yolo."

And that's what we did. We went through security and all that complicated, boring crap and we went to the lounge we had access to because of our first class tickets.

"Go wait for me at the bar, I need to use the restroom." I told Claire.

"Okay. Any particular wine you're craving at this early hour?" she asked me with a smile on her face.

"No, m'dear. I'll have whatever you're having."

"Okay."

I made a left and went to the restroom. I emptied my bladder, washed my hands and went to the bar. And this is what I see as the bar comes into view. I see Claire having a discussion with a man, and I know her, so I can tell, even from afar, that she's _pissed._ I stopped for a second not knowing if I should interrupt or not. Since Claire is more than capable of defending herself, I decided to not interfere. I stood there watching her, making sure things didn't escalate. And I took a moment to examine the guy she was directing all her rage at.

He was tall, had dark hair, looked successful and smart, he also looked like an asshole. He was sitting on the bar, swirling a glass of, what looked like, whisky, and he looked completely unfazed at the fact that Claire was pissed. He raised his head every once in a while, mainly to say something to her, which caused Claire to get angrier more than once. She was containing her anger, if the redness on her neck and the popping veins were anything to go by.

Claire said something that made him stop swirling the liquid in his glass and he sat up straight and looked at her. The smug smirk he had on the whole time disappeared from his face. Claire raised her voice a little and I heard the rest of the conversation.

"You know what? I should thank you. Because as much as what you did hurt me, my life turned out great; more than great, actually. So thank you and I hope I never have to see you again."

She turned around, and his hand shot out and grabbed her by the forearm. And that's when I started moving. I felt the same blind anger as I did back in the hospital when I broke Castell's jaw. She yanked her arm away.

"Don't ever touch me again!" She yells at him.

As soon as she said that, my hand slammed flat against his chest and I pushed him backwards against the bar. "Touch her again and I'll rip your arm off. Understood?" I said close to his ear.

I pulled back to look at him. He thought Claire was alone, I realized as I looked at him. A smug smile started to appear on his face again and he moved his head to look at Claire.

"Is this your bodyguard?" he asked her.

"He's my husband."

"You got married?" He asked her a bit surprised.

She laughs bitterly. "Where you expecting me to feel lost without you, Patrick? You always thought you were so important."

Patrick? _That_ Patrick? Oh, how I wanted to punch his face in that day. But I held myself back and let Claire punch his face in the figurative way.

"Let's go, Owen. He's not worth it. He never was." Claire tells me.

When I didn't move, she touched my arm lightly and I looked at her. I could tell she just wanted to leave, so I looked at _Patrick_ one more time and took my hand off his chest. We turned around and I put my arm around Claire's shoulders and we left the lounge. I was honestly expecting him to say something. Thank God he didn't, because I don't know what I would have done. After that, we waited in our gate and settled for a beer instead. We talked for a little bit about what happened in the lounge, but we didn't focus on that, as Claire said, he wasn't worth it.

When we came home the twins were taking their afternoon nap, and mum and dad were picking up all the crayolas and sketchbooks from the floor.

"There they are!" He puts the sketchbooks on the dining table and hugs Claire and I. "How did it go? You had fun, I hope?"

"Yes, it was amazing. We had a lot of fun. The city is amazing!" I tell dad.

"It is. Switzerland is one of those countries where you cleanse your soul. It is pretty wonderful." Mum tells me.

"How long ago did Mia and Nicholas fall asleep?" Claire asks mum and dad.

"About 15 minutes ago, so there's still a little bit more waiting for you two. But tell us about your trip." Mum says sitting down on the couch.

"Oh my God, Emilia! You're not going to believe whom we run into at the airport lounge." Claire tells mum.

"Who?" Mum asks. Curiosity picked.

"My ex-fiancé, Patrick."

"What?! What happened? What did you do?! What did _you_ do?!" She turns to look at me at the last part.

We tell her and dad all about our little meeting with the asshole. When Claire gets to the part where I pushed him, mum and dad were surprised I hadn't actually punched him.

"I've changed since I became a father. I only aggressively push people now." I tell them.

We talk about what they were up to during the week. They tell us that they went to the park, they watched movies, and that the kids have actually started repeating some words in Italian.

"So if they ask for acqua, that's on me." Mum says.

Right on cue, we hear the patter of little feet. I turn my head and see Nicholas walking in, rubbing his eyes.

"Hey, look who's up!" I stand up and pick him up. "I missed you, buddy. Where's your sister? Is she still asleep?"

"Dada." Nicholas says.

"Hi, bud." I kiss him and sit back down next to Claire.

"Hello, sweetheart. I missed you so much. Did you have fun?" Claire says caressing his cheek.

"Mama." Nicholas says reaching for Claire.

Nicholas stays content in Claire's arms. Mia wakes up not too long after and she stays content in mine.

The twins grow and grow. It almost seems too fast. It's so rewarding seeing how they understand more, how their sentences start coming together better. They become their own little people. Mia loves books and asks us to teach her how to read the summer before they start pre-school. Nicholas loves soccer, he even watches it on tv. And they still love dancing. And I mean _love_. We put them in after school classes once they started pre-school.

Claire and I scramble to catch up with them.

It's amazing to see how their personalities develop. It's fun to see the ways in which they are like us, but it's more fun to see the way they're unlike us. One day, after I pick them up after classes, we go home and wait for Claire to have a late lunch.

She brings some food from some healthy restaurant, which I can't deny, it's not bad. And we sit down for dinner.

"How was school today, guys? Did you learn anything fun?" Claire asks them.

"They're teaching us math." Mia says.

"It's boring. I like it better when they teach us about the animals that live in the sea, or the air, or land." Nicholas says.

"I like math and Daniel likes it too."

"Who's Daniel, Mia?" Claire asks her.

"He's my boyfriend."

I choke on my food. "What?!"

Claire starts smiling. "Calm down. You have a boyfriend? Since when?"

"Since yesterday." Mia answers and continues to eat her food.

"Oh. And how did he become your boyfriend? Did he ask you or…"

"No, I asked him."

"She did. I saw her. He gave her a kiss on the cheek. Yuck." Nicholas says sticking his tongue out.

"He did what?!" Oh hell no! "Tomorrow when I go pick you up, you're going to show me who Daniel is, okay?"

"Okay, calm down. She's 3, Owen. What are you going to do? Mess up a 3 year old?" Claire asks me.

I look at her. "Yes."

"Don't worry, Mia. Daddy is just being a little overprotective, that's all. I have a question for you, though. And this is the only thing that matters, okay?"

"What is it?" She asks curiously.

"Does he make you laugh?"

Mia smiles. "Yes! He makes Nicholas laugh too!"

Nicholas laughs. "He makes funny faces. Like this." And he pulls his ears and puffs his cheeks.

We all laugh. Later that night, when Claire and I are in bed, she tells me that if it really bothers me that much, she could talk to Daniel's mum and invite them over for a play date, since Nicholas is friends with him too.

"No dates! No dates." I tell Claire.

"Jesus! Relax! Now you're starting to miss the days when she used to twerk, aren't you?"

I don't say anything. But I do.

What we honestly didn't think about was the questions they would ask. When Nicholas realizes about Claire's scars and asks her how she got them, or when they start teaching the kids about dinosaurs and we come up in class. We kinda forgot about those. We had to come up with simple enough explanations for them to understand without completely freaking them out. Especially with Claire's scars. You don't want to tell 3 year olds their mother died for 10 minutes.

But yeah, our lives are pretty good. From running away from dinosaurs, to a normal live in Philly with my two kids and wife. I can't complain.

I've learnt through this whole journey, that you never know where life will take you. That you should embrace every change, every _good_ change that comes into your life and to never take for granted the opportunities that have been given to you. Live life to the fullest and like nonna said, 'exploit every second'.

Forgive me for getting philosop-

"Owen, since the day we started living together I've told you to not leave your towel on the floor! How many times do I have to tell you?!" I hear Claire yell at me.

"Sorry, babe. Bad habit."

See? Everything is like it's supposed to be.

AN:

The end has come! I want you to do me a favor, guys. If you have a couple of minutes (or hours) to spare, please read the whole fic and let me know how the story flows, if there are any discrepancies, if my writing got better or worse. What was your favourite chapter? From the characters I created, which one was your favourite character? If I have time and inspiration hits over the summer, maybe I'll write something. If I do, would you like me to continue with this story or create another one? Tell me your hopes and dreams and let's see if I can do something about it. But I can't promise anything! Chemistry and calculus are going to be the death of me! Thanks for the love! Hopefully you'll see me around! I definitely hope so! Love you, guys!


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